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Abstract: The products of andesite and dacite glaciovolcanism at Kerlingarfjöll are unlike others previously described in the literature. Three sequences of lithofacies are described and interpreted here. The andesitic deposits at “Campsite Gully” are divided into: massive vitriclastic lapilli tuff with intrusions; fluidal-clast-bearing vitriclastic lapilli tuff; and stratified, pumice-rich vitriclastic lapilli tuff. At Tindur, andesitic eruptions produced contorted pillow fragment breccia and the clast-supported lithic breccia. Finally, pillow lava with intrusions and crudely-bedded vitriclastic lapilli tuff of dacitic composition are described at Haraldur. Abundant vitriclasts, the presence of pillow lavas, hackly fracturing of lava bodies and lack of oxidation of clasts demonstrate that each of these lithofacies formed in the presence of abundant water. This contrasts with all other descriptions of subglacially-erupted intermediate magmas, which are characterised by jointed and glassy lava flows and domes with a marked scarcity of fragmental material. The Kerlingarfjöll sequences therefore demonstrate that it is possible for intermediate magmas to generate and interact with significant volumes of water at the base of a glacier. Preliminary estimates of volatile contents in glassy clasts correspond to quenching pressures equivalent to >500 m water or >550 m ice. This is consistent with eruption beneath an ice sheet that was thick enough to overwhelm the underlying topography and where meltwater drainage was controlled by the morphology of the glacier surface. It is argued that the drainage of water due to steep topography and/or thin and fractured ice, as opposed to thermodynamic considerations, is the most likely explanation for the absence of evidence for significant magma–water interaction in previously described instances of intermediate glaciovolcanism. The apparent low viscosity of the Kerlingarfjöll magmas may relate to relatively high eruption temperatures and/or the inhibition of degassing of the magma due to high ambient pressures and the consequent limitation of groundmass crystallisation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Rhyolite eruptions in Iceland mostly take place at long-lived central volcanoes, examples of which are found associated with each of the present-day rift-zone ice caps. Subglacial eruptions at Kerlingarfjöll central volcano produced rhyolite tuyas that are notable for their exposures of early-erupted pyroclastic material. Observations from a number of these edifices are synthesised into a general model for explosive rhyolite tuya formation. Eruptions begin with violent phreatomagmatic explosions that generate massive tuff (mT), but the influence of water quickly declines, leading to the formation of massive lapilli-tuffs (mLT) containing magmatically-fragmented vesicular pumice and ash. These are deposited rapidly near the vent, probably by moist pyroclastic density currents, confined by ice but not within a meltwater lake. The explosive-effusive transition is controlled by the ascent rate and gas content of the magma. An unusual obsidian-rich massive lapilli-tuff lithofacies (omLT) is identified and interpreted as pyroclastic material that was intruded into gas-fluidised deposits at the explosive-effusive transition. The effusive phase of eruption involves the emplacement of intrusions and lava caps. Intrusions of lava into the early-erupted phreatomagmatic deposits are characterised by peperitic margins and the formation of hyaloclastite. Intrusions into stratigraphically higher levels of the pyroclastic material show more limited interaction with the host tephra and have microcrystalline cores. Large lava bodies with columnar-jointed margins cap the tuyas and have intrusive basal contacts with the tephras. The main influence of the ice is to confine the rhyolite eruptive products to immediately above the vent region. This is in contrast to subglacial basaltic tuya-forming eruptions, which are characterised by the formation of meltwater lakes, phreatomagmatic fragmentation and subaqueous deposition. The lack of meltwater storage may reduce the potential for large jökulhlaups. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]