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USGS1994

Earthquake classification, location, and error analysis in a volcanic environment: implications for the magmatic system of the 1989-1990 eruptions at redoubt volcano, Alaska

Determination of the precise locations of seismic events associated with the 1989-1990 eruptions of Redoubt Volcano posed a number of problems, including poorly known crustal velocities, a sparse station distribution, and an abundance of events with emergent phase onsets. In addition, the high relief of the volcano could not be incorporated into the hypoellipse earthquake location algorithm. This algorithm was modified to allow hypocenters to be located above the elevation of the seismic stations. The velocity model was calibrated on the basis of a posteruptive seismic survey, in which four chemical explosions were recorded by eight stations of the permanent network supplemented with 20 temporary seismographs deployed on and around the volcanic edifice. The model consists of a stack of homogeneous horizontal layers; setting the top of the model at the summit allows events to be located anywhere within the volcanic edifice. Detailed analysis of hypocentral errors shows that the long-period (LP) events constituting the vigorous 23-hour swarm that preceded the initial eruption on December 14 could have originated from a point 1.4 km below the crater floor. A similar analysis of LP events in the swarm preceding the major eruption on January 2 shows they also could have originated from a point, the location of which is shifted 0.8 km northwest and 0.7 km deeper than the source of the initial swarm. We suggest this shift in LP activity reflects a northward jump in the pathway for magmatic gases caused by the sealing of the initial pathway by magma extrusion during the last half of December. Volcano-tectonic (VT) earthquakes did not occur until after the initial 23-hour-long swarm. They began slowly just below the LP source and their rate of occurrence increased after the eruption of 01:52 AST on December 15, when they shifted to depths of 6 to 10 km. After January 2 the VT activity migrated gradually northward; this migration suggests northward propagating withdrawal of magma from a plexus of dikes and/or sills located in the 6 to 10 km depth range. Precise relocations of selected events prior to January 2 clearly resolve a narrow, steeply dipping, pencil-shaped concentration of activity in the depth range of 1-7 km, which illuminates the conduit along which magma was transported to the surface. A third event type, named hybrid, which blends the characteristics of both VT and LP events, originates just below the LP source, and may reflect brittle failure along a zone intersecting a fluid-filled crack. The distribution of hybrid events is elongated 0.2-0.4 km in an east-west direction. This distribution may offer constraints on the orientation and size of the fluid-filled crack inferred to be the source of the LP events. ?? 1994.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1992

Pyroclastic deposits of the Mount Edgecumbe volcanic field, southeast Alaska: eruptions of a stratified magma chamber

The Mount Edgecumbe volcanic field in southeastern Alaska consists of 5-6 km3 (DRE) of postglacial pyroclasts that overlie Pleistocene lavas. All eleven pyroclast vents align with the long axis of the field, implying that the pyroclast magma conduits followed a crustal fissure. Most of these vents had previously erupted lavas that are compositionally similar to the pyroclasts, so a persistent magma system (chamber) had likely evolved by the onset of the pyroclastic eruptions. The pyroclastic sequence was deposited in about a millennium and is remarkable for a wide range of upward-increasing silica contents (51-72% SiO2), which is consistent with rise of coexisting magmas at different rates governed by their viscosity. Basaltic and andesitic lava flows have erupted throughout the lifetime of the field. Rhyolite erupted late; we infer that it formed early but was hindered from rising by its high viscosity. Most of the magmas-and all siliceous ones-erupted from vents on the central fissure. Basalt has not erupted from the center of the field during at least the latter part of its lifetime. Thus the field may illustrate basalt underplating: heat and mass flux are concentrated at the center of a stratified magma chamber in which a cap of siliceous melt blocks the rise of basalt. Major-element, strontium isotope, and mineral compositions of unaltered pyroclasts are broadly similar to those of older lavas of similar SiO2 content. Slightly fewer phenocrysts, inherited grains, and trace amphibole in pyroclastic magmas may be due simply to faster rise and less undercooling and degassing before eruption relative to the lavas. Dacite occurs only in the youngest deposits; the magma formed by mixing of andesitic and rhyolitic magmas erupted shortly before by the dacitic vents. ?? 1992.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1992

The structure, dynamics, and chemical composition of noneruptive plumes from Mount St. Helens, 1980-1988

From May 1980 to September 1988, more than 1000 fixed-wing aircraft flights were made with a correlation spectrometer to measure the sulfur dioxide flux from Mount St. Helens volcano. These flights also provided valuable data on the structure and dynamics of noneruptive plumes emanating from Mount St. Helens. During 1980 and part of 1981, an infrared spectrometer was also used to measure carbon dioxide emission rates. At distances up to 25 km from Mount St. Helens, plume widths can range up to 20 km or more, with width/thickness ratios from 3 to about 30. Maximum sulfur dioxide concentrations in these plumes depend on wind speed and are typically under 5 ppm and usually 1 ppm or less. Close examination of the plume data reveals that the characteristics of quiescent plumes from Mount St. Helens are strongly affected by certain meteorological conditions such as thermal and wind stratification in the troposphere, as well as by the topography of the volcano. ?? 1992.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1992

Geothermal gas compositions in yellowstone National Park, USA

Gas samples collected between 1974 and 1986 have been analysed for the ten major components. Samples have been collected almost exclusively from the tops of pools, which has degraded the value of the data, and limited inter-comparisons to the relatively insoluble components, Ar, N2, CH4, H2 and He. A general gas distribution pattern in the park, in terms of these components, shows the major heat source(s) to underlie the Gibbon and Mud Volcano areas with all other geothermal areas having gas compositions consistent with a general north-south water flow. Shoshone Basin gases show a large range of compositions and these are analysed in detail. The patterns conform to that which would be expected from an east-west flow or fluid with progressive boiling and subsequent dilution. ?? 1992.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1992

Mass transfer constraints on the chemical evolution of an active hydrothermal system, Valles caldera, New Mexico

Partial equilibrium conditions occur between fluids and secondary minerals in the Valles hydrothermal system, contained principally in the Tertiary rhyolitic Bandelier Tuff. The mass transfer processes are governed by reactive phase compositions, surface areas, water-rock ratios, reaction rates, and fluid residence times. Experimental dissolution of the vitric phase of the tuff was congruent with respect to Cl in the solid and produced reaction rates which obeyed a general Arrhenius release rate between 250 and 300??C. The 18O differences between reacted and unreacted rock and fluids, and mass balances calculations involving Cl in the glass phase, produced comparable water-rock ratios of unity, confirming the importance of irreversible reaction of the vitric tuff. A fluid residence time of approximately 2 ?? 103 years, determined from fluid reservoir volume and discharge rates, is less than 0.2% of the total age of the hydrothermal system and denotes a geochemically and isotopically open system. Mass transfer calculations generally replicated observed reservoir pH, Pco2, and PO2 conditions, cation concentrations, and the secondary mineral assemblage between 250 and 300??C. The only extraneous component required to maintain observed calcite saturation and high Pco2 pressures was carbon presumably derived from underlying Paleozoic limestones. Phase rule constraints indicate that Cl was the only incompatible aqueous component not controlled by mineral equilibrium. Concentrations of Cl in the reservoir directly reflect mass transport rates as evidenced by correlations between anomalously high Cl concentrations in the fluids and tuff in the Valles caldera relative to other hydrothermal systems in rhyolitic rocks. ?? 1992.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1992

Evolution of a Quaternary peralkaline volcano: Mayor Island, New Zealand

Mayor Island is a Holocene pantelleritic volcano showing a wide range of dispersive power and eruptive intensity despite a very limited range in magma composition of only 2% SiO2. The primary controls on this range appear to have been the magmatic gas content on eruption and a varying involvement of basaltic magma, rather than major-element chemistry of the rhyolites. The ca. 130 ka subaerial history of the volcano contains portions of three geochemical cycles with abrupt changes in trace-element chemistry following episodes of caldera collapse. The uniform major-element chemistry of the magma may relate to a fine balance between rates of eruption and supply and the higher density of the more evolved (Ferich) magmas which could be tapped only after caldera-forming events had removed significant volumes of less evolved but lighter magma. ?? 1992.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1992

Geochemistry of waters in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes region, Alaska

Meteoric waters from cold springs and streams outside of the 1912 eruptive deposits filling the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes (VTTS) and in the upper parts of the two major rivers draining the 1912 deposits have similar chemical trends. Thermal springs issue in the mid-valley area along a 300-m lateral section of ash-flow tuff, and range in temperature from 21 to 29.8??C in early summer and from 15 to 17??C in mid-summer. Concentrations of major and minor chemical constituents in the thermal waters are nearly identical regardless of temperature. Waters in the downvalley parts of the rivers draining the 1912 deposits are mainly mixtures of cold meteoric waters and thermal waters of which the mid-valley thermal spring waters are representative. The weathering reactions of cold waters with the 1912 deposits appear to have stabilized and add only subordinate amounts of chemical constituents to the rivers relative to those contributed by the thermal waters. Isotopic data indicate that the mid-valley thermal spring waters are meteoric, but data is inconclusive regarding the heat source. The thermal waters could be either from a shallow part of a hydrothermal system beneath the 1912 vent region or from an incompletely cooled, welded tuff lens deep in the 1912 ash-flow sheet of the upper River Lethe area. Bicarbonate-sulfate waters resulting from interaction of near-surface waters and the cooling 1953-1968 southwest Trident plug issue from thermal springs south of Katmai Pass and near Mageik Creek, although the Mageik Creek spring waters are from a well-established, more deeply circulating hydrothermal system. Katmai caldera lake waters are a result of acid gases from vigorous drowned fumaroles dissolving in lake waters composed of snowmelt and precipitation. ?? 1992.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1992

A comparison of gas geochemistry of fumaroles in the 1912 ash-flow sheet and on active stratovolcanoes, Katmai National Park, Alaska

Fumarolic gas samples collected in 1978 and 1979 from the stratovolcanoes Mount Griggs, Mount Mageik, and the 1953-68 SW Trident cone in Katmai National Park, Alaska, have been analysed and the results presented here. Comparison with recalculated analyses of samples collected from the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes (VTTS) in 1917 and 1919 demonstrates differences between gases from the short-lived VTTS fumaroles, which were not directly magma related, and the fumaroles on the volcanic peaks. Fumarolic gases of Mount Griggs have an elevated total He content, suggesting a more direct deep crustal or mantle source for these gases than those from the other volcanoes. ?? 1992.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1992

Types of phreatomagmatic volcanoes in the western Snake River Plain, Idaho, USA

The western Snake River Plain graben in southwestern Idaho includes a large hydrovolcanic field which was produced in late Miocene to Pleistocene time by the interaction of rising basaltic magmas with the waters and water-saturated deposits of an enormous freshwater lake, Lake Idaho. The phreatomagmatic volcanoes in this field may be grouped into three types: emergent, subaqueous and subaerial. Emergent volcanoes, which began erupting under water and built up above the lake level, are relatively large and symmetrical, are dominated by bedded tuffs and late magmatic deposits, and are excellent indicators of water depth at the time of the eruption. Subaqueous volcanoes, which never built up above the lake level, are relatively small and asymmetrical, are dominated by basal massive deposits, and are potentially useful in discriminating between deep- and very-deep-water settings. Subaerial volcanoes, which were formed when magmas intercepted buried aquifers and interacted explosively with water, are small tuff rings and maars with variable shapes, are composed of subequal (although variable) proportions of basal massive deposits, bedded tuffs and late magmatic deposits, and are useful in determining the stratigraphic successions underlying them. ?? 1992.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1993

Relations of ammonium minerals at several hydrothermal systems in the western U.S.

Ammonium bound to silicate and sulfate minerals has recently been located at several major hydrothermal systems in the western U.S. utilizing newly-discovered near-infrared spectral properties. Knowledge of the origin and mineralogic relations of ammonium minerals at known hydrothermal systems is critical for the proper interpretation of remote sensing data and for testing of possible links to mineralization. Submicroscopic analysis of ammonium minerals from two mercury- and gold-bearing hot-springs deposits at Ivanhoe, Nevada and McLaughlin, California shows that the ammonium feldspar, buddingtonite, occurs as fine-grained euhedral crystals coating larger sulfide and quartz crystals. Ammonium feldspar seems to precipitate relatively late in the crystallization sequence and shows evidence for replacement of NH4+ by K+ or other monovalent cations. Some buddingtonite is observed in close association with mercury, but not with gold. Ammonioalunite is found in a variety of isolated crystal forms at both deposits. Nitrogen isotopic values for ammonium-bearing minerals show a 14??? range in composition, precluding assignment of a specific provenance to the nitrogen. The correlations of nitrogen isotopic values with depth and ammonium content suggest some loss of nitrogen in the oxidizing supergene environment, possibly as a metastable mineral. The high ammonium content in these hydrothermal systems, the close association to mercury, and the small crystal size of the ammonium-bearing minerals all suggest that ammonium may be transported in a late-stage vapor phase or as an organic volatile. Such a process could lead to the formation of a non-carbonaceous organic aureole above a buried geothermal source. The discovery of a 10-km outcrop of ammonium minerals confirms that significant substitution of ammonium in minerals is possible over an extensive area and that remote sensing is a feasible means to detect such aureoles. ?? 1993.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1993

2.8-Ma ash-flow caldera at Chegem River in the northern Caucasus Mountains (Russia), contemporaneous granites, and associated ore deposits

Diverse latest Pliocene volcanic and plutonic rocks in the north-central Caucasus Mountains of southern Russia are newly interpreted as components of a large caldera system that erupted a compositionally zoned rhyolite-dacite ash-flow sheet at 2.83 ?? 0.02 Ma (sanidine and biotite 40Ar/39Ar). Despite its location within a cratonic collision zone, the Chegem system is structurally and petrologically similar to typical calderas of continental-margin volcanic arcs. Erosional remnants of the outflow Chegem Tuff sheet extend at least 50 km north from the source caldera in the upper Chegem River. These outflow remnants were previously interpreted by others as erupted from several local vents, but petrologic similarities indicate a common origin and correlation with thick intracaldera Chegem Tuff. The 11 ?? 15 km caldera and associated intrusions are superbly exposed over a vertical range of 2,300 m in deep canyons above treeline (elev. to 3,800 m). Densely welded intracaldera Chegem Tuff, previously described by others as a rhyolite lava plateau, forms a single cooling unit, is > 2 km thick, and contains large slide blocks from the caldera walls. Caldera subsidence was accommodated along several concentric ring fractures. No prevolcanic floor is exposed within the central core of the caldera. The caldera-filling tuff is overlain by andesitic lavas and cut by a 2.84 ?? 0.03-Ma porphyritic granodiorite intrusion that has a cooling age analytically indistinguishable from that of the tuffs. The Eldjurta Granite, a pluton exposed low in the next large canyon (Baksan River) 10 km to the northwest of the caldera, yields variable K-feldspar and biotite ages (2.8 to 1.0 Ma) through a 5-km vertical range in surface and drill-hole samples. These variable dates appear to record a prolonged complex cooling history within upper parts of another caldera-related pluton. Major W-Mo ore deposits at the Tirniauz mine are hosted in skarns and hornfels along the roof of the Eldjurta Granite, and associated aplitic phases have textural features of Climax-type molybdenite porphyries in the western USA. Similar 40Ar/39Ar ages, mineral chemistry, and bulk-rock compositions indicate that the Chegem Tuff, intracaldera intrusion, and Eldjurta Granite are all parts of a large magmatic system that broadly resembles the middle Tertiary Questa caldera system and associated Mo deposits in northern New Mexico, USA. Because of their young age and superb three-dimensional exposures, rocks of the Chegem-Tirniauz region offer exceptional opportunities for detailed study of caldera structures, compositional gradients in volcanic rocks relative to cogenetic granites, and the thermal and fluid-flow history of a large young upper-crustal magmatic system. ?? 1993.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1994

Dome growth and destruction during the 1989-1990 eruption of redoubt volcano

Much of the six-month-long 1989-1990 eruption of Redoubt Volcano consisted of a dome-growth and -destructive phase in which 14 short-lived viscous silicic andesite domes were emplaced and 13 subsequently destroyed. The life span of an individual dome ranged from 3 to 21 days and volumes are estimated at 1 ?? 106 to 30 ?? 106 m3. Magma supply rates to the vent area averaged about 5 ?? 105 m3 / day for most of the dome-building phase and ranged from a high of 2.2 ?? 106 m3 per day initially to a low of 1.8 ?? 105 m3 per day at the waning stages of the eruption. The total volume of all domes is estimated to be about 90 ?? 106 m3 and may represent as much as 60-70% of the volume for the entire eruption. The site of 1989-1990 dome emplacement, like that in 1966, was on the margin of a north-facing amphitheatre-like summit crater. The domes were confined on the east and west by steep cliffs of pre-eruption cone-building volcanic rocks and thus were constrained to grow vertically. Rapid upward growth in a precarious site caused each dome to spread preferentially to the north, resulting in eventual gravitational collapse. As long as the present conduit remains active at Redoubt Volcano, any dome formed in a new eruption will be confined to a narrow steeply-sloping gorge, leading to rapid vertical growth and a tendency to collapse gravitationally. Repetitive cycles of dome formation and failure similar to those seen in 1989-1990 are probably the norm and must be considered in future hazard analyses of Redoubt Volcano. ?? 1994.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1994

Statistical forecasting of repetitious dome failures during the waning eruption of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska, February-April 1990

The waning phase of the 1989-1990 eruption of Redoubt Volcano in the Cook Inlet region of south-central Alaska comprised a quasi-regular pattern of repetitious dome growth and destruction that lasted from February 15 to late April 1990. The dome failures produced ash plumes hazardous to airline traffic. In response to this hazard, the Alaska Volcano Observatory sought to forecast these ash-producing events using two approaches. One approach built on early successes in issuing warnings before major eruptions on December 14, 1989 and January 2, 1990. These warnings were based largely on changes in seismic activity related to the occurrence of precursory swarms of long-period seismic events. The search for precursory swarms of long-period seismicity was continued through the waning phase of the eruption and led to warnings before tephra eruptions on March 23 and April 6. The observed regularity of dome failures after February 15 suggested that a statistical forecasting method based on a constant-rate failure model might also be successful. The first statistical forecast was issued on March 16 after seven events had occurred, at an average interval of 4.5 days. At this time, the interval between dome failures abruptly lengthened. Accordingly, the forecast was unsuccessful and further forecasting was suspended until the regularity of subsequent failures could be confirmed. Statistical forecasting resumed on April 12, after four dome failure episodes separated by an average of 7.8 days. One dome failure (April 15) was successfully forecast using a 70% confidence window, and a second event (April 21) was narrowly missed before the end of the activity. The cessation of dome failures after April 21 resulted in a concluding false alarm. Although forecasting success during the eruption was limited, retrospective analysis shows that early and consistent application of the statistical method using a constant-rate failure model and a 90% confidence window could have yielded five successful forecasts and two false alarms; no events would have been missed. On closer examination, the intervals between successive dome failures are not uniform but tend to increase with time. This increase attests to the continuous, slowly decreasing supply of magma to the surface vent during the waning phase of the eruption. The domes formed in a precarious position in a breach in the summit crater rim where they were susceptible to gravitational collapse. The instability of the February 15-April 21 domes relative to the earlier domes is attributed to reaming the lip of the vent by a laterally directed explosion during the major dome-destroying eruption of February 15, a process which would leave a less secure foundation for subsequent domes. ?? 1994.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1994

The geologic history of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska

Redoubt Volcano is a composite cone built on continental crust at the northeast end of the Aleutian arc. Magmas erupted at Redoubt are medium-K calc-alkaline basalts, andesites, and dacites. The eruptive history of the volcano can be divided into four parts: the early explosive stage, early cone-building stage, late cone-building stage, and post-glacial stage. The most silicic products of the volcano were erupted during the early explosive stage about 0.888 Ma and include pumiceous pyroclastic flow deposits, block-and-ash flow deposits, and a dome or shallow intrusive complex. Basalt and basaltic andesite lava flows and scoria and ash flows were produced during the early cone-building stage, which was underway by 0.340 Ma. During the late cone-building stage, andesitic lava flows and block-and-ash flows were emplaced. Airfall deposits produced during post-glacial eruptions are silicic andesite in composition. Since the early cone-building stage, magmas have become progressively more silicic, but none are as silicic as those in the early explosive stage. Limited Pb and Sr isotopic data suggest that Redoubt magmas were contaminated by North American continental crust. ?? 1994.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1994

Geochemistry of the 1989-1990 eruption of redoubt volcano: Part II. Evidence from mineral and glass chemistry

Early stages (December 1989) of the 1989-1990 eruption of Redoubt Volcano produced two distinct lavas. Both lavas are high-silica andesites with a narrow range of bulk composition (58-64 wt.%) and similar mineralogies (phenocrysts of plagioclase, hornblende, augite, hypersthene and FeTi oxides in a groundmass of the same phases plus glass). The two lavas are distinguished by groundmass glass compositions, one is dacitic and the other rhyolitic. Sharp boundaries between the two glasses in compositionally banded pumices, lack of extensive coronas on hornblende phenocrysts, and seismic data suggest that a magma-mixing event immediately preceeded the eruption in December 1989. Textural disequilibrium in the phenocrysts suggests both magmas (dacitic and rhyolitic glasses) had a mixing history prior to their interaction and eruption in 1989. Sievey plagioclase and overgrowths of magnetite on ilmenite are textures that are at least consistent with magma mixing. The presence of two hornblende compositions (one a high-Al pargasitic hornblende and one a low-Al magnesiohornblende) in both the dacitic and rhyolitic groundmasses indicates a mixing event to yield these two amphibole populations prior to the magma mixing in December 1989. The pargasitic hornblende and the presence of Ca-rich overgrowths in the sievey zones of the plagioclase together indicate at least one component of this earlier mixing event was a mafic magma, either a basalt or a basaltic andesite. Eruptions in 1990 produced only andesite with a rhyolitic groundmass glass. Glass compositions in the 1990 andesite are identical to the rhyolitic glass in the 1989 andesite. Cognate xenoliths from the magma chamber (or conduit) are also found in the 1990 lavas. Magma mixing probably triggered the eruption in 1989. The eruption ended when this rather viscous (rhyolitic groundmass glass, magma capable of entraining sidewall xenoliths) magma stabalized within the conduit. ?? 1994.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1994

Seismic evolution of the 1989-1990 eruption sequence of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska

Redoubt Volcano in south-central Alaska erupted between December 1989 and June 1990 in a sequence of events characterized by large tephra eruptions, pyroclastic flows, lahars and debris flows, and episodes of dome growth. The eruption was monitored by a network of five to nine seismic stations located 1 to 22 km from the summit crater. Notable features of the eruption seismicity include : (1) small long-period events beginning in September 1989 which increased slowly in number during November and early December; (2) an intense swarm of long-period events which preceded the initial eruptions on December 14 by 23 hours; (3) shallow swarms (0 to 3 km) of volcano-tectonic events following each eruption on December 15; (4) a persistent cluster of deep (6 to 10 km) volcano-tectonic earthquakes initiated by the eruptions on December 15, which continued throughout and beyond the eruption; (5) an intense swarm of long-period events which preceded the eruptions on January 2; and (6) nine additional intervals of increased long-period seismicity each of which preceded a tephra eruption. Hypocenters of volcano-tectonic earthquakes suggest the presence of a magma source region at 6-10 km depth. Earthquakes at these depths were initiated by the tephra eruptions on December 15 and likely represent the readjustment of stresses in the country rock associated with the removal of magma from these depths. The locations and time-history of these earthquakes coupled with the eruptive behavior of the volcano suggest this region was the source of most of the erupted material during the 1989-1990 eruption. This source region appears to be connected to the surface by a narrow pipe-like conduit as inferred from the hypocenters of volcano-tectonic earthquakes. Concentrations of shallow volcano-tectonic earthquakes followed each of the tephra eruptions on December 15; these shocks may represent stress readjustment in the wall rock related to the removal of magma and volatiles at these depths. This shallow zone was the source area of the majority of long-period seismicity through the remainder of the eruption. The long-period seismicity likely reflects the pressurization of the shallow portions of the magmatic system. ?? 1994.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1994

Emission rates of sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide from Redoubt Volcano, Alaska during the 1989-1990 eruptions

Airborne measurements of sulfur dioxide emission rates in the gas plume emitted from fumaroles in the summit crater of Redoubt Volcano were started on March 20, 1990 using the COSPEC method. During the latter half of the period of intermittent dome growth and destruction, between March 20 and mid-June 1990, sulfur dioxide emission rates ranged from approximately 1250 to 5850 t/d, rates notably higher than for other convergent-plate boundary volcanoes during periods of active dome growth. Emission rates following the end of dome growth from late June 1990 through May 1991 decreased steadily to less than 75 t/d. The largest mass of sulfur dioxide was released during the period of explosive vent clearing when explosive degassing on December 14-15 injected at least 175,000 ?? 50,000 tonnes of SO2 into the atmosphere. Following the explosive eruptions of December 1989, Redoubt Volcano entered a period of intermittent dome growth from late December 1989 to mid-June 1990 during which Redoubt emitted a total mass of SO2 ranging from 572,000 ?? 90,000 tonnes to 680,000 ?? 90,000 tonnes. From mid-June 1990 through May 1991, the volcano was in a state of posteruption degassing into the troposphere, producing approximately 183,000 ?? 50,000 tonnes of SO2. We estimate that Redoubt Volcano released a minimum mass of sulfur dioxide of approximately 930,000 tonnes. While COSPEC data were not obtained frequently enough to enable their use in eruption prediction, SO2 emission rates clearly indicated a consistent decline in emission rates between March through October 1990 and a continued low level of emission rates through the first half of 1991. Values from consecutive daily measurements of sulfur dioxide emission rates spanning the March 23, 1990 eruption decreased in the three days prior to eruption. That decrease was coincident with a several-fold increase in the frequency of shallow seismic events, suggesting partial sealing of the magma conduit to gas loss that resulted in pressurization of the shallow magma system and an increase in earthquake activity. Unlike the short-term SO2 decrease in March 1990, the long-term decrease of sulfur dioxide emission rates from March 1990 through May 1991 was coincident with low rates of seismic energy release and was interpreted to reflect gradual depressurization of the shallow magma reservoir. The long-term declines in seismic energy release and in SO2 emission rates led AVO scientists to conclude on April 19, 1991 that the potential for further eruptive activity from Redoubt Volcano had diminished, and on this basis, the level of concern color code for the volcano was changed from code yellow (Volcano is restless; earthquake activity is elevated; activity may include extrusion of lava) to code green (Volcano is in its normal 'dormant' state). ?? 1994.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1994

Proximal pyroclastic deposits from the 1989-1990 eruption of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska - stratigraphy, distribution, and physical characteristics

More than 20 eruptive events during the 1989-1990 eruption of Redoubt Volcano emplaced a complex sequence of lithic pyroclastic-flow, -surge, -fall, ice-diamict, and lahar deposits mainly on the north side of the volcano. The deposits record the changing eruption dynamics from initial gas-rich vent-clearing explosions to episodic gas-poor lava-dome extrusions and failures. The repeated dome failures produced lithic pyroclastic flows that mixed with snow and glacial ice to generate lahars that were channelled off Drift glacier into the Drift River valley. Some of the dome failures occurred without precursory seismic warning and appeared to result solely from gravitational instability. Material from the disrupted lava domes avalanched down a steep, partly ice-filled canyon incised on the north flank of the volcano and came to rest on the heavily crevassed surface of the piedmont lobe of Drift glacier. Most dome-collapse events resulted in single, monolithologic, massive to reversely graded, medium- to coarse-grained, sandy pyroclastic-flow deposits containing abundant dense dome clasts. These deposits vary in thickness, grain size, and texture depending on distance from the vent and local topography; deposits are finer and better sorted down flow, thinner and finer on hummocks, and thicker and coarser where ponded in channels cut through the glacial ice. The initial vent-clearing explosions emplaced unusual deposits of glacial ice, snow, and rock in a frozen matrix on the north and south flanks of the volcano. Similar deposits were described at Nevado del Ruiz, Columbia and have probably been emplaced at other snow-and-ice-clad volcanoes, but poor preservation makes them difficult to recognize in the geologic record. In a like fashion, most deposits from the 1989-1990 eruption of Redoubt Volcano may be difficult to recognize and interpret in the future because they were emplaced in an environment where glacio-fluvial processes dominate and quickly obscure the primary depositional record. ?? 1994.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗