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[1] The long-lasting 1783–1784 CE Laki flood lava eruption in Iceland released around 120 Tg of sulfur dioxide into the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere. Northern Hemisphere temperature proxy records of the 1780s indicate below-average temperatures for up to three years following the eruption. The very warm summer of 1783 in Europe, which was followed by a very cold winter, may have been caused by the eruption, but the mechanisms are not yet well understood. Some studies attributed the cold winter 1783–1784 to natural variability of climate. However, our climate model simulations show that the Laki radiative effects lasted long enough to contribute to the winter cooling. We suggest that sulfur isotopic composition measurements obtained using samples from Greenland ice cores do not provide evidence of either a short-lived volcanic aerosol cloud or a short-lived climatic impact of the Laki eruption. In fact, the applicability of mass-independent sulfur isotopic composition measurements for interpreting the climatic impact of any high-latitude eruption remains yet to be demonstrated.

Two groups of poorly sorted ash-rich beds, previously interpreted as rain-flushed ashes, occur in the ca. AD 180 Hatepe Plinian pumice fall deposit at Taupo volcano, New Zealand. Two ash beds with similar dispersal patterns and an aggregate thickness of up to 13 cm make up the lowermost group (A). Group A beds extend 45 km north-east of the vent and cover 290 km2. In the southern part of the group A distribution area, a coarse ash to lapilli-size Plinian pumice bed (deposit B) separates the two group A beds. The scarcity of lapilli (material seen elsewhere from the still-depositing pumice fall) in group A beds indicates that they were rapidly transported and deposited. However, this rapid transportation and deposition did not produce cross-bedding, nor did it erode the underlying deposits. It is proposed that thick (>600 m) but dilute gravity currents generated from the collapsing outer margin of the otherwise buoyant Hatepe Plinian eruption column deposited the group A beds. The upper ash beds (group C) consist of one to seven layers, attain an aggregate thickness of ≤35 cm, and vary considerably in thickness and number of beds with respect to distance from vent. Group C beds contain variable amounts of ash mixed with angular Plinian pumices and are genuine rain-flushed ashes. Several recent eruptions at other volcanoes (Ukinrek Maars, Vulcan, Rabaul, La Soufrere de Guadeloupe and Soufriere, St Vincent) have produced gravity currents similar in style, but much smaller than those envisaged for group A deposits. The overloaded margins of otherwise buoyant eruption plumes generated these gravity currents. Laboratory studies have produced experimental gravity current analogues. Hazards from dilute gravity currents are considerable but often overlooked, thus the recognition of gravity current deposits will contribute to more thorough volcanic hazard assessment of prehistoric eruption sequences.

Glass shards from the A.D. 1783 Laki fissure eruption in Iceland have been identified in the GISP2 ice core from Summit, Greenland, at a level just preceding the major acidity/sulfate peak. Detailed reconstruction of ice stratigraphy, coupled with analyses of solid particles from filtered samples, indicate that a small amount of Laki ash was carried via atmospheric transport to Greenland in the summer of 1783, whereas the main aerosol precipitation occurred in the summer and early fall of 1784. Sulfate concentrations in the ice increase slightly during late summer and fall of 1783 and remain steady throughout the winter due to slow oxidation rates during this season in the Arctic. The sulfate concentration rises dramatically in the spring and summer of 1784, producing a massive sulfate peak, previously believed to have accumulated during the summer of 1783 and commonly used as the marker horizon in Greenland ice core studies. The chronology of ash and acid fallout at the GISP2 site suggests that a significant portion of the Laid eruption plume penetrated the tropopause and that aerosol generated from it remained aloft for at least 1 yr after the eruption. Based on comparisons with other glaciochemical seasonal indicators, abnormally cool conditions prevailed at Summit during the summer of 1784. This further supports the claim that a significant volume of sulfate aerosol remained in the Arctic middle atmosphere well after the eruption had ceased.

The largest known Quaternary silicic lava body in the world is Cerro Chao in north Chile, a 14-km-long coulee with a volume of at least 26 cu km. It is the largest of a group of several closely similar dacitic lavas erupted during a recent (less than 100,000 year old) magmatic episode in the Altiplano-Puna Volcanic Complex (APVC; 21-24 deg S) of the Centra; Andean Volcanic Zone. The eruption of Chao proceeded in three phases. Phase 1 was explosive and produced approximately 1 cu km of coarse, nonwelded dacitic pumice deposits and later block and ash flows that form an apron in front of the main lava body. Phase 2 was dominantly effusive and erupted approximately 22.5 cu km of magma in the form of a composite coulee covering approximately 53 sq km with a 400-m-high flow front and a small cone of poorly expanded pumice around the vent. The lava is homogeneous with rare flow banding and vesicular tops and selvages. Ogives (flow ridges) reaching heights of 30 m form prominent features on its surface. Phase 3 produced a 6-km-long, 3-km-wide flow that emanated from a collapsed dome. Ogives are subdued, and the lava is glassier than that produced in previous phases. All the Chao products are crystal-rich high-K dacites and rhyodacites with phenocrysts of plagioclase, quartz, hornblende, biotite, sphene, rare snidine, and oxides. Phenocryst contents reach 40-60 vol % (vesicle free) in the main phase 2 lavas but are lower in the phase 1 (20-25%) and phase 3 (approximately 40%) lavas. Ovoid andesitic inclusions with vesicular interiors and chilled margins up to 10 cm are found in the later stages of phase 2 and compose up to 5% of the phase 3 lava. There is little evidence for preeruptive zonation of the magma body in composition, temperature (approximately 840 C), fO2 (19(exp -11), or water content, so we propose that eruption of the Chao complex was driven by intrusion of fresh, hot andesitic magma into a crystallizing and largely homogeneous body of dacitic magma. Morphological measurements suggest that the Chao lavas had internal plastic viscosities of 10(exp 10) to 10(exp 12) Pa s, apparent viscosities of 10(exp 9) Pa s, surface viscosities of 10(exp 15) to 10(exp 24) Pa s, and a yield strength of 8 x 10(exp 5) Pa. These estimates indicate that Chao would have exhibited largely similar rheological properties to other silicic lava extrusions, notwithstanding its high phenocryst content. We suggest that Chao's anomalous size is a function of both the relatively steep local slope (20 deg to 3 deg) and the available volume of magma. The eruption duration for Chao's emplacement is thought to have been about 100 to 150 years, with maximum effusion rates of about 25 cu m/s for short periods. Four other lavas in the vicinity with volumes of approximately 5 cu km closely resemble Chao and are probably comagnetic. The suite as a whole shares a petrologic and chemical similarity with the voluminous regional Tertiary to Pleistocene ignimbrites of the APVC and may be derived from a zone of silicic magmatism that is thought to have been active since the late Tertiary. Chao and the other young lavas may represent either the waning of this system or a new episode fueled by intrusions of mafic magma.

Newly identified ´a´ā lava flows outcrop intermittently over an area of ~110 km2 in the western Deccan Volcanic Province (DVP), India. They occur in the upper Thakurvadi Formation in the region south of Sangamner. The flows, one of which is compound, are 15–25 m thick, and exhibit well-developed basal and flow-top breccias. The lavas have microcrystalline groundmasses and are porphyritic or glomerocrystic and contain phenocrysts of olivine, clinopyroxene or plagioclase feldspar. They are chemically similar to compound pāhoehoe flows at a similar stratigraphic horizon along the Western Ghats. Petrographic and geochemical differences between ´a´ā flows at widely spaced outcrops at the same stratigraphic horizon suggest that they are the product of several eruptions, potentially from different sources. Their presence in the DVP could suggest relative proximity to vents. This discovery is significant because ´a´ā lavas are generally scarce in large continental flood basalt provinces, which typically consist of numerous inflated compound pāhoehoe lobes and sheet lobes. Their scarcity is intriguing, and may relate to either their occurrence only in poorly preserved or exposed proximal areas or to the flat plateau-like topography of flood basalt provinces that may inhibit channelization and ´a´ā formation, or both. In this context, the ´a´ā flow fields described here are inferred to be the products of eruptions that produced unusually high-effusion-rate lavas compared to typical flood basalt eruptions. Whether these phases were transitional to lower intensity, sustained eruptions that fed extensive low effusion rate pāhoehoe flow fields remains unclear.

Current attempts to develop a proxy for Earth’s surface ultraviolet-B (UV-B) flux focus on the organic chemistry of pollen and spores because their constituent biopolymer, sporopollenin, contains UV-B absorbing pigments whose relative abundance may respond to the ambient UV-B flux. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy provides a useful tool for rapidly determining the pigment content of spores. In this paper, we use FTIR to detect a chemical response of spore wall UV-B absorbing pigments that corresponds with levels of shade beneath the canopy of a high-latitude Swedish birch forest. A 27% reduction in UV-B flux beneath the canopy leads to a significant ( p

A general feedback between volcanism and climate at times of transition in the Quaternary climate record is suggested, exemplified by events accompanying the Toba eruption (∼74,000 yr ago), the largest known late Quaternary explosive volcanic eruption. The Toba paroxysm occurred during the δ18O stage 5a-4 transition, a period of rapid ice growth and falling global sea level, which may have been a factor in creating stresses that triggered the volcanic event. Toba is estimated to have produced between 1015 and 1016 g of fine ash and sulfur gases lofted in co-ignimbrite ash clouds to heights of at least 32 ± 5 km, which may have led to dense stratospheric dust and sulfuric acid aerosol clouds. These conditions could have created a brief, dramatic cooling or "volcanic winter," followed by estimated annual Northern Hemisphere surface-temperature decreases of ∼3° to 5°C caused by the longer-lived aerosols. Summer temperature decreases of ⩾10°C at high northern latitudes, adjacent to regions already covered by snow and ice, might have increased snow cover and sea-ice extent, accelerating the global cooling already in progress. Evidence for such climate-volcanic feedback, following Milankovitch periodicities, is found at several climatic transitions.

The Laki (Skaftar Fires) fissure eruption in southern Iceland lasted for eight months during 1783 to 1784, and produced one of the largest basaltic lava flows in historic times (14.7±1.0 km3). In addition, neighboring Grimsvotn central volcano was frequently active during the period from May 1783 to May 1785. The combined activity is interpreted as having been the result of a two-year-long volcano-tectonic episode on the Grimsvotn volcanic system. Contemporary descriptions of the explosive activity make it possible to relate the tephra stratigraphy to the progress of the eruption on a weekly basis and show that activity on the fissures propagated to the NE with time, towards Grimsvotn. The eruption at Laki began on 8 June with a brief explosive event on a short fissure, and lava rapidly began to flow into the Skafta river gorge. It reached the lowlands, 35 km away, four days later and continued to flow, with variable discharge, until 7 February 1784. Approximately 90% of the lava was emplaced in the first five months of activity. The 27-km-long vent complex is composed of tenen echelon fissures distributed on both sides of the much older Laki hyaloclastite mountain. The surface expression of each fissure is a continuous row of vents consisting of scoria cones, spatter cones, and tuff cones. Six tephra fall units are positively identified; two units are completely compsed of phreatomagmatic tephra derived from two tuff cones and the others are Strombolian deposits. The volume of tephra, including ash fall that extended to mainland Europe, is 0.4 km3 dense rock equivalent volume, or 2.6% of the total erupted volume. Interpretation of contemporary descriptions of tephra falls, combined with the preserved stratigraphy, allow the identification of ten eruptive episodes during the eight months of activity on the Laki fissures. These eruptive episodes are inferred to have resulted from the unsteady flow of magma in the feeder system. In addition, at least eight eruption episodes occurred at Grimsvotn in 1783 to 1785, five in 1783, two in 1784, and one in 1785. Each episode at Laki began with a seismic swarm of increasing intensity that led to the formation of a new fissure, the opening of which was followed by short-lived phreatomagmatic activity caused by the high water table around the eruption site. Activity usually changed to violent Strombolian or sub-Plinian, followed by Hawaiian fire fountaining and effusive activity as the availability of groundwater dwindled. Thus, the explosive activity associated with the opening of each fissure was largely controlled by external watermagma interactions. Maximum effusion rates, occurring in the first two episodes, are estimated to have been 8.5x103 and 8.7x103 m3 s-1 from fissures totaling 2.2 and 2.8 km in length, respectively, and, in general, discharge gradually decreased over time. The highest rates are equivalent to 5.6x103 and 4.5x103 kg s-1 per meter length of fissure, values that could conceivably be similar to those that produced some flood basalt lava flows. Maximum fire fountain heights are estimated to have varied from 800 m to 1400 m and convecting eruption columns above the vents rose to a maximum altitude of about 15 km. The release of sulfur gases during fountaining produced an acid haze (aerosol) which spread widely and had a considerable environmental, and possibly climatic, impact on the Northern Hemisphere.

Here we respond to the comments by Cole-Dai et al. [2014] on our article Schmidt et al. [2012]. Specifically, in response to section 2 of their reply, we argued in Schmidt et al. [2012] that based on previously published estimates of the volatile release height during the 1783-1784 C.E. Laki eruption, the lack of a sulfur massindependent fractionation (MIF) anomaly is expected. In other words, no previous study on Laki ever argued that this eruption emitted SO2 into altitudes >13-15 km. In section 2.3, Cole-Dai et al. [2014] argue that the nonzero Δ33S value of their Laki sample 1 may be explained by a short-lived explosive phase at Laki during which volatiles reached the stratosphere. In Schmidt et al. [2012] in section 2, we argued in agreement with Cole-Dai et al. [2014] (section 3.1) that for a MIF anomaly to be preserved, the Laki volatiles would have had to be emitted in >20 km altitude. Our main point is that eruption column heights >20 km are unlikely based on the historical accounts and plume-rise modeling for the Laki eruption [Stothers et al., 1986; Woods, 1993; Thordarson and Self, 2003]. In Schmidt et al. [2012], we argued that to deduce a short-lived climatic impact of the Laki eruption based on the lack of a MIF anomaly and the length of the sulfate deposition in Greenland ice cores may be misleading because the climatic impact will outlast the radiative forcing of the Laki aerosol cloud. Cole-Dai et al. [2014] acknowledge the latter in their reply in section 4.2. We agreewith Cole-Dai et al. [2014] in that themagnitude and length of the climatic impact during the winter of 1783-1784 depends on the altitude of the volatile release during the eruption (sections 2.3 and 4.2). However, even if we assumed that during Laki all sulfur dioxide (SO2) would have been released in the troposphere, then the aerosol cloud would still be present in the upper troposphere during March 1784, as is evident from independent model simulations of this "tropospheric-only" scenario [Stevenson et al., 2003]. We acknowledge that there is uncertainty on the volatile release height for Laki; however, it is worth considering that those climate model simulations that used an injection altitude between 9 km and 13 km for the Laki SO2 [Highwood and Stevenson, 2003; Oman et al., 2006a, 2006b; Schmidt et al., 2012] best match the observed temperature changes during summer of 1783 [Angell and Korshover, 1985; Brazdil et al., 2010; Briffa et al., 1998; D'Arrigo and Jacoby, 1999; Jacoby et al., 1999; Kington, 1988; Manley, 1974; Parker et al., 1992; Thordarson and Self, 2003]. Based on these model simulations, a climatic impact during the winter of 1783-1784, albeit weaker than during the climactic phases of Laki, is expected (and our argument here does not exclude the role of natural variability in contributing to the cold winter of 1783-1784 as discussed in Schmidt et al. [2012]). Therefore, we continue to argue that for high-latitude eruptions such as Laki, the applicability of sulfur isotopic measurements to interpret the climatic relevance has yet to be demonstrated. Itmay transpire that the interpretation of MIF signals for the climate-relevance of an eruption is valid and unambiguous only for short-lived explosive eruptions in the tropics. In terms of the processes producing a MIF anomaly (section 3.3 in Cole-Dai et al. [2014]), the works by Hattori et al. [2013] and Ono et al. [2013] suggest that there are remaining issues not discussed by Cole-Dai et al. [2014], for instance, self-shielding of SO2 due to high column densities typical for eruptions of Pinatubo-scale and greater, and the preservation of the MIF signature in general.

Grande Ronde Basalt (GRB) lavas represent the most voluminous eruptive pulse of the Columbia River–Snake River–Yellowstone hotspot volcanism. With an estimated eruptive volume of 150,000 km 3 , GRB lavas form at least 66% of the total volume of the Columbia River Basalt Group. New 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dates for GRB lavas reveal they were emplaced within a maximum period of 0.42 ± 0.18 My. A well-documented stratigraphy indicates at least 110 GRB flow fields (or individual eruptions), and on this basis suggests an average inter-eruption hiatus of less than 4000 years. Isotopic age-dating cannot resolve time gaps between GRB eruptions, and it is difficult to otherwise form a picture of the durations of eruptions because of non-uniform weathering in the top of flow fields and a general paucity of sediments between GR lavas. Where sediment has formed on top of GRB lavas, it varies in thickness from zero to 20–30 cm of silty to fine-sandy material, with occasional diatomaceous sediment. Individual GRB eruptions varied considerably in volume but many were greater than 1000 km 3 in size. Most probably eruptive events were not equally spaced in time; some eruptions may have followed short periods of volcanic repose (perhaps 10 2 to 10 3 of years), whilst others could have been considerably longer (many 1000 s to > 10 4 years). Recent improvements in age-dating for other continental flood basalt (CFB) lava sequences have yielded estimates of total eruptive durations of less than 1 My for high-volume pulses of lava production. The GRB appears to be a similar example, where the main pulse occupied a brief period. Even allowing for moderate to long-duration pahoehoe flow field production, the amount of time the system spends in active lava-producing mode is small — less than c . 2.6% (based on eruption durations of approximately 10,000 years, compared to the duration of the entire eruptive pulse of c. 420,000 years). A review of available 40 Ar/ 39 Ar data for the major voluminous phases of the Columbia River Basalt Group suggests that activity of the Steens Basalt–Imnaha Basalt–GRB may have, at times, been simultaneous, with obvious implications for climatic effects. Resolving intervals between successive eruptions during CFB province construction, and durations of main eruptive pulses, remains vital to determining the environmental impact of these huge eruptions.

Results are presented of a preliminary investigation of the fractal nature of the plan-view shapes of lava flows in Hawaii (based on field measurements and aerial photographs), as well as in Idaho and the Galapagos Islands (using aerial photographs only). The shapes of the lava flow margins are found to be fractals: lava flow shape is scale-invariant. This observation suggests that nonlinear forces are operating in them because nonlinear systems frequently produce fractals. A'a and pahoehoe flows can be distinguished by their fractal dimensions (D). The majority of the a'a flows measured have D between 1.05 and 1.09, whereas the pahoehoe flows generally have higher D (1.14-1.23). The analysis is extended to other planetary bodies by measuring flows from orbital images of Venus, Mars, and the moon. All are fractal and have D consistent with the range of terrestrial a'a and have D consistent with the range of terrestrial a'a and pahoehoe values.

Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and 16S rDNA analysis were used to characterize the endolithic colonization of silica-rich rhyolitic glass (obsidian) in a barren terrestrial volcanic environment in Iceland. The rocks were inhabited by a diverse eubacterial assemblage. In the interior of the rock, we identified cyanobacterial and algal 16S (plastid) sequences and visualized phototrophs by FISH, which demonstrates that molecular methods can be used to characterize phototrophs at the limits of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). Temperatures on the surface of the dark rocks can exceed 40 degrees C but are below freezing for much of the winter. The rocks effectively shield the organisms within from ultraviolet radiation. Although PAR sufficient for photosynthesis cannot penetrate more than approximately 250 mum into the solid rock, the phototrophs inhabit cavities; and we hypothesize that by weathering the rock they may contribute to the formation of cavities in a feedback process, which allows them to acquire sufficient PAR at greater depths. These observations show how pioneer phototrophs can colonize the interior of volcanic glasses and rocks, despite the opaque nature of these materials. The data show that protected microhabitats in volcanic rocky environments would have been available for phototrophs on early Earth.

A two dimensional model for the dispersal of volcanic ash, modified from that of Suzuki (1983), is applied to the September 16, 1986 eruption of Lascar, in northern Chile. The result is an isopach map predicting ground concentrations of ash. The map shows two local maxima along distinct dispersal axes and predicts that the deposit was detached from the source. Predicted concentrations are in agreement with a single reported thickness measurement.

The Earth Observing System (EOS) scheduled for launch in 1997 and 1999 is briefly described, and the EOS volcanology investigation objectives are discussed. The volcanology investigation will include long- and short-term monitoring of selected volcanoes, the detection of precursor activity associated with unanticipated eruptions, and a detailed study of on-going eruptions. A variety of instruments on the EOS platforms will enable the study of local- and regional-scale thermal and deformational features of volcanoes, and the chemical and structural features of volcanic eruption plumes and aerosols.

Spore chemistry is at the centre of investigations aimed at producing a proxy record of harmful ultraviolet radiation (UV-B) through time. A biochemical proxy is essential owing to an absence of long-term (century or more) instrumental records. Spore cell material contains UV-B absorbing compounds that appear to be synthesised in variable amounts dependent on the ambient UV-B flux. To facilitate these investigations we have developed a rapid method for detecting variations in spore chemistry using combined thermochemolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Our method was tested using spores obtained from five populations of the tropical lycopsid Lycopodium cernuum growing across an altitudinal gradient (650-1981 m a.s.l.) in S.E. Asia with the assumption that they experienced a range of UV-B radiation doses. Thermochemolysis and subsequent pyrolysis liberated UV-B pigments (ferulic and para-coumaric acid) from the spores. All of the aromatic compounds liberated from spores by thermochemolysis and pyrolysis were active in UV-B protection. The various functional groups associated with UV-B protecting pigments were rapidly detected by micro-FTIR and included the aromatic C[double bond, length as m-dash]C absorption band which was exclusive to the pigments. We show increases in micro-FTIR aromatic absorption (1510 cm(-1)) with altitude that may reflect a chemical response to higher UV-B flux. Our results indicate that rapid chemical analyses of historical spore samples could provide a record ideally suited to investigations of a proxy for stratospheric O3 layer variability and UV-B flux over historical (century to millennia) timescales.

Recent missions to Mars raise the possibility of surface sedimentary sequences that may contain the organic remains of past or present Martian biota. Irrespective of the mechanism of any biological processes on Mars, it seems reasonable to presume that they will involve the transfer and reaction of carbon-bearing molecules. In this case, following the example of terrestrial life forms such as plants and bacteria, it is almost certain that these processes will be accompanied by changes in 12 C/ 13 C ratios (which are themselves the result of kinetic isotope effects imparted during the embedded chemical/physical processes). Thus, just as carbon in biological organic matter on Earth is enriched in the lighter carbon isotope relative to mantle (juvenile) carbon, the logical consequence of Martian life is a stable carbon isotopic gradient from the top of the mantle to the surface sedimentary rocks. Stepped combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry is a proven technique for measuring the isotopic composition of ambient carbon trapped in crystals during magma solidification. Data from SNC meteorites extracted from different depths on Mars are not inconsistent with a biologically-produced carbon isotope gradient in the Martian crust and provide directions for future research and exploration.

[ 1] We combined 33 ice core records, 13 from the Northern Hemisphere and 20 from the Southern Hemisphere, to determine the timing and magnitude of the great Kuwae eruption in the mid-15th century. We extracted volcanic deposition signals by applying a high-pass loess filter to the time series and examining peaks that exceed twice the 31 year running median absolute deviation. By accounting for the dating uncertainties associated with each record, these ice core records together reveal a large volcanogenic acid deposition event during 1453 - 1457 A. D. The results suggest only one major stratospheric injection from the Kuwae eruption and confirm previous findings that the Kuwae eruption took place in late 1452 or early 1453, which may serve as a reference to evaluate and improve the dating of ice core records. The average total sulfate deposition from the Kuwae eruption was 93 kg SO4/km(2) in Antarctica and 25 kg SO4/km(2) in Greenland. The deposition in Greenland was probably underestimated since it was the average value of only two northern Greenland sites with very low accumulation rates. After taking the spatial variation into consideration, the average Kuwae deposition in Greenland was estimated to be 45 kg SO4/km(2). By applying the same technique to the other major eruptions of the past 700 years our result suggests that the Kuwae eruption was the largest stratospheric sulfate event of that period, probably surpassing the total sulfate deposition of the Tambora eruption of 1815, which produced 59 kg SO4/km(2) in Antarctica and 50 kg SO4/km(2) in Greenland.

[1] In the paper ‘‘SO2 emissions from basaltic eruptions, and the excess sulfur issue’’ by Sharma et al. (Geophysical Research Letters, 31, L13612, doi:10.1029/ 2004GL019688, 2004), in paragraph [3], there is a mistake in equation (1). The authors apologize for this oversight and wish to thank Dr. Ralf Gertisser for pointing it out. [2] With this correction, equation (1) should read as follows

About the book: The vast majority of erupted magmas are emplaced as lava flows. Although not as devastating as large explosive eruptions, lava flows may cause significant damage. Understanding the physical and thermal processes that govern the flow and emplacement of lava (the dynamics) and the inference of the emplacement and flow history from features preserved in flows (the kinematics) are the subjects of this compilation of papers. The volume provides an overview of the current understanding of the physical, thermal, and chemical processes that govern the flow of lavas and the interpretation of prehistoric flows. The chapters encompass volcanological, petrological, and structural studies; approaches include numerical and experimental modeling, field studies, remote sensing, and hazard assessment using geographic information systems. An outstanding feature of this volume is the multidisciplinary content of the presented topics.

We report on new field observations from Icelandic lava flows that have the same surface morphology as many Martian flood lava flows. The Martian flood lavas are characterized by a platy-ridged surface morphology whose formation is not well understood. The examples on Mars include some of the most pristine lava on the planet and flows >1500 km long. The surfaces of the flows are characterized by (1) ridges tens of meters tall and wide and hundreds of meters long, (2) plates hundreds of meters to kilometers across that are bounded by ridges, (3) smooth surfaces broken into polygons several meters across and bowed up slightly in the center, (4) parallel grooves 1–10 km long cut into the flow surface by flow past obstacles, and (5) inflated pahoehoe margins. The Icelandic examples we examined (the 1783–1784 Laki Flow Field, the Burfells Lava Flow Field by Lake Myvatn, and a lava flow from Krafla Volcano) have all these surface characteristics. When examined in detail, we find that the surfaces of the Icelandic examples are composed primarily of disrupted pahoehoe. In some cases the breccia consists of simple slabs of pahoehoe lava; in other cases it is a thick layer dominated by contorted fragments of pahoehoe lobes. Our field observations lead us to conclude that these breccias are formed by the disruption of an initial pahoehoe surface by a large flux of liquid lava within the flow. In the case of Laki, the lava flux was provided by surges in the erupted effusion rate. At Burfells it appears that the rapid flow came from the sudden breaching of the margins of a large ponded lava flow. Using the observations from Iceland, we have improved our earlier thermal modeling of the Martian flood lavas. We now conclude that these platy-ridged lava flows may have been quite thermally efficient, allowing the flow to extend for >100 km under a disrupted crust that was carried on top of the flow.

Volcanic SO2 can affect the Earth's environment. Where no direct measurements of SO2 in the atmosphere are available, a petrologic method of assessing sulfur release from the magma must be used. However, in studies of arc-derived eruptions, satellite-based measurements of SO2 emissions using Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) data are orders of magnitude greater than those calculated petrologically, implying that a separate S-rich gas phase in the magma chamber may be responsible for the excess sulfur. We test whether this applies in other settings. For Icelandic and Hawaiian basalts we find that petrologic SO2 values are comparable to measurements of SO2 by TOMS. Thus, for non-arc basalts, the petrologic method gives reliable estimates of SO2 released. The implied absence of excess sulfur in non-arc basaltic magmas is a reflection of source magma conditions, notably lower fO2 and volatile contents than arc magmas, inhibiting the exsolution of a S-rich gas prior to eruption.

We suggest that the Tambora 1815 eruption was smaller than previously thought, yielding 30–33 km3 of magma. Valuable insight into the eruption is gained by comparing it to the much smaller 1991 Pinatubo event, which had a similar eruption style and rate. By measuring pre- and post-eruption sulfur concentrations in 1815 ejecta, we estimate that Tambora released 53–58 Tg (5.3–5.8 × 1013 g) of SO2 within a period of about 24 hours on 10–11 April, 1815. This was sufficient to generate between 93 and 118 Tg of stratospheric sulfate aerosols. A value within this range, distributed globally, agrees well with estimates of aerosol mass from ice-core acidity and the radiative impact of the eruption. In contrast to other recent explosive arc eruptions, the Tambora ejecta retain a record of the sulfur mass released, with no “excess sulfur”.

A new technique for retrieving sulphur dioxide concentrations from TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) data is described. The retrieval technique relies on absorption of infrared radiation by the anti-symmetric stretch of the sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ) molecule centred around 7.3 μm. The High-resolution infrared radiation sounder (HIRS/2) is part of the TOVS package and has a channel that covers this absorption region. The HIRS/2 data are global, span almost 24 years, have a sub-satellite spatial resolution of about 18 km and can be used both day and night. The retrieval method is described and its accuracy and sources of error discussed. Case studies for the June 1991 Pinatubo eruptions, for the August 1991 eruptions of Cerro Hudson and for several eruptions of Hekla volcano, are used to illustrate the retrievals and the results are compared with independent SO 2 retrievals from the TOMS instrument. These new SO 2 data provide a potentially valuable tool for studying the climatic effects of explosive eruptions. Because the satellite measurements are global, long-term and can simultaneously provide other climate parameters (e.g. surface temperatures, temperature profiles, humidity profiles, cloudiness, ozone amount and long- and short-wave radiation) they can be used to test and validate volcanically-induced effects in global climate simulations.

Model calculations that investigate the possible climatic effects of the Toba volcanic cloud are presented. The increase in atmospheric opacity might have produced a 'volcanic winter', followed by a few years with maximum estimated annual hemispheric surface-temperature decreases of 3-5 C. The eruption occurred during the stage 5a-4 transition of the oxygen isotope record, a time of rapid ice growth and falling sea level. It is suggested that the Toba eruption may have greatly accelerated the shift to glacial conditions that was already under way, by inducing perennial snow cover and increased sea-ice extent at sensitive northern latitudes. As the onset of climate change may have helped to trigger the eruption itself, it is proposed that the Toba event may exemplify a more general climate-volcano feedback mechanism.

Satellite images of large volcanic explosions reveal that the tops of volcanic eruptions columns are much cooler than the surrounding atmosphere. It is proposed that this effect occurs whenever a mixture of hot volcanic ash and entrained air ascends sufficiently high into a stably stratified atmosphere. Although the mixture is initially very hot, it expands and cools as the ambient pressure decreases. It is shown that cloud-top undercoolings in excess of 20 C may develop in clouds that penetrate the stratosphere, and it is predicted that, for a given cloud-top temperature, variations in the initial temperature of 100-200 C may correspond to variations in the column height of 5-10 km. It is deduced that the present practice of converting satellite-based measurements of the temperature at the top of volcanic eruptions columns to estimates of the column height will produce rather inaccurate results and should therefore be discontinued.

George Patrick Leonard Walker, an outstanding and multi-faceted geologist and one of the most influential volcanologists in the world, died on 17 January 2005, at the age of 78. He was born in London on 2 March 1926 and grew up mainly in Northern Ireland. He read geology for B.Sc. honors and M.Sc. degrees at Queens University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and completed his training with a Ph.D. in mineralogy from Leeds University in England, which he received in 1956. By then, he had already been appointed, in 1954, to a lectureship at Imperial College London.

The article by [Lee et al. (2004)][1] suggests that at least one “supereruption” from the Toba caldera, Sumatra, was associated with a climatic warming, rather than a cooling trend. The background to this is that [Rampino and Self (1992][2], [1993)][3] originally suggested that the supereruption

Based on its complex and little-understood eruptive history and its enormous potential for disaster, Taal was chosen as a Decade Volcano by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) from among 200 potentially active volcanoes in the Philippines. Taal is frequently active, several million people live within a 20-km radius of its caldera rim, and it is surrounded by well-utilized infrastructure. Although its hazards were momentarily eclipsed by events since 1991 at Mount Pinatubo, Taal is the larger threat to the Philippine population.

In volcanology, the period 1991–1994 was very busy, with many active volcanoes keeping pace with the higher-than-average frequency of eruptions (about 60–70 per year) recorded during the late 1970's to the late 1980's (Simkin, 1993). Some large and violent eruptions occurred in well populated areas but these passed without the higher death tolls caused by eruptions in the previous decade, a reflection perhaps of increased volcanic hazard awareness, improved prediction and monitoring, and better communication between volcanologists and public officials (Peterson and Tilling, 1993). The loss of human life was limited to a little over 1000, with perhaps ∼750 of these attributable to the Mount Pinatubo eruption on Luzon in the Philippines. Many were killed by post-eruption phenomena, such as mudflows, and by disease in the displaced populations. This large eruption, which had a world-wide atmospheric impact, dominates the picture of volcanism in the early 1990's. However, significant eruptions also occurred at Hudson, Unzen, Spurr, Redoubt, Hekla, Mayon, Galeras, Rabaul, Kliuchevskoi, Etna (the most voluminous lava outpourings this century), and many other volcanoes. Here we assess the current state of volcano monitoring and hazard awareness against a backdrop of the eruptions of the past four years, and take a look at future developments, stressing new techniques in the field of remote sensing.

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During ten days of phreatomagmatic activity in early April 1977, two maars formed 13 km behind the Aleutian arc near Peulik volcano on the Alaska Peninsula. They have been named “Ukinrek Maars”, meaning “two holes in the ground” in Yupik Eskimo. The western maar formed at the northwestern end of a low ridge within the first three days and is up to 170 m in diameter and 35 m in depth. The eastern maar formed during the next seven days 600 m east of West Maar at a lower elevation in a shallow saddle on the same ridge and is more circular, up to 300 m in diameter and 70 m in depth. The maars formed in terrain that was heavily glaciated in Pleistocene times. The groundwater contained in the underlying till and silicic volcanics from nearby Peulik volcano controlled the dominantly phreatomagmatic course of the eruption. During the eruptions, steam and ash clouds reached maximum heights of about 6 km and a thin blanket of fine ash was deposited north and east of the vents up to a distance of at least 160 km. Magma started to pool on the floor of East Maar after four days of intense phreatomagmatic activity. The new melt is a weakly undersaturated alkali olivine basalt (Ne = 1.2%) showing some transitional character toward high-alumina basalts. The chemistry, an anomaly in the tholeitic basalt-andesite-dominated Aleutian arc, suggests that the new melt is primitive, generated at a depth of 80 km or greater by a low degree of partial melting of garnet peridotite mantle with little subsequent fractionization during transport. The Pacific plate subduction zone lies at a depth of 150 km beneath the maars. Their position appears to be tectonically controlled by a major regional fault, the Bruin Bay fault, and its intersection with cross-arc structural features. We favor a model for the emplacement of the Ukinrek Maars that does not link the Ukinrek conduit to the plumbing system of nearby Peulik volcano. The Ukinrek eruptions probably represent a genetically distinct magma pulse originating at asthenospheric depths beneath the continental lithosphere.

Application of a newly developed theory to volcanological observations of explosive eruptions shows that previous estimates of pre-explosion gas pressures may be overestimated by an order of magnitude.

The Plio-Pleistocene Puye Formation, north-central New Mexico, is a 200-km2 volcanogenic alluvial fan shed eastward from the Tschicoma volcanic center, part of the Jemez Mountains volcanic field. The fan contains > 15km3 of volcaniclastic material derived from closely spaced lava domes in the northeastern portion of the Tschicoma center. Interbedded in the fan sediments are at least 25 primary pyroclastic units from explosive eruptions of dacitic and rhyolitic lava domes. Tephra occur mainly as pumice falls but include several pumiceous ignimbrites and two thick proximal block-and-ash pyroclastic flows. The upper part of the fan also contains rhyolitic plinian deposits erupted from sources in the central portion of the Jemez field and basaltic ash derived from the central Rio Grande rift. Fanglomeratic (pyroclastic and epiclastic) facies exhibit considerable lateral variation. Primary tephra deposits, however, provide a stratigraphic framework for reconstruction of the growth of individual lava domes. While only volcanic domes and lava flows are exposed in the Tschicoma center, Puye tephra layers show that vulcanian, subplinian and plinian activity, and block-and-ash pyroclastic flows accompanied many dome-forming events. Degradation of these lava domes produced coarse-grained debris flows dominated by lava and dome carapace clasts. From these epiclasts it is possible to identify lithologies of lavas that are either currently buried or have been obliterated by erosion or by collapse of the Valles calderas. The preservation of Puye deposits reflects very high rates of aggradation and gradual down-faulting in the Espanola basin of the central Rio Grande rift. This record of pyroclastic and epiclastic deposition allows detailed interpretation of the evolution of a volcanic center from its pyroclastic and erosion products, and is the first example of a volcanogenic alluvial fan in an intracontinental rift setting to be described in detail. This study emphasizes that interpretation of any ancient volcanic terrain based solely upon data derived from mapping, radiometric dating, and chemical analysis of lavas or existing denuded edifices is likely to greatly underestimate both the role of explosive volcanism in the build-up of volcanic centers and subsequent estimates of the volumes of material produced.

Pyroclastic eruptions of Ngauruhoe volcano on February 19, 1975, were observed closely. A 1.5-hour period of voluminous gas-streaming emission was followed by a series of violently explosive cannon-like eruptions, which threw blocks at least 2.8 km from the vent. Initial ejecta velocities of 400 m s−1 indicate high explosion gas pressures, possibly caused by magmatic intrusions rapidly heating confined meteoric water, the explosions being driven largely by phreatic steam rather than magmatic gases. Pyroclastic avalanches were generated by both the gas-streaming and cannon-like eruptions; in the latter they were formed by collapse of dense eruption columns onto the summit of the volcano. Downslope transport appears to have been by inertial grain flow mechanisms; erosion of chutes and short runout distances indicate that the avalanches were neither highly fluidised nor of air-layer lubricated type. A minimum bulk volume of 3.4 × 106m3 of pyroclastic material was erupted. Although of smaller scale, the Ngauruhoe explosions appear to have analogies to the 1968 Arenal and Mayon eruptions.

Pyroclastic deposits of the 20,000 year old Wairakei Formation occur in the region surrounding Lake Taupo in the central North Island of New Zealand. Recent advances in the correlation of both proximal and distal equivalents of the Wairakei deposits show that they were the result of one large eruption. The ash layers once covered most of New Zealand; they are also present in deep sea cores from the SW Pacific and on the Chatham Islands. The dispersal and grain-size parameters of the ash-fall members indicate that their vent area was within the Taupo volcano-tectonic depression which, for a long period, has contained a large lake. The Wairakei eruption is interpreted to have been phreatomagmatic throughout. Each phase of the eruption sequence generated its own characteristic deposits. The sequence of events can be summarized as follows: (1) Eruption and deposition of a white, fine-grained, bedded, fall deposit; (2) eruption and deposition of a medium-grained, pumice-fall deposit; (3) generation of ultra-fine, wet, ash clouds, with a fall deposit accumulating largely as aggregates and accretionary lapilli accompanied by base surges; (4) formation of water-cooled pyroclastic flows and deposition of an extensive ignimbrite; (5) return to a dominantly vertical eruption column and deposition of a medium-grained bedded ash fall, immediately followed by another wet, ultra-fine fall deposit charged with accretionary lapilli. Finally, (6) an ignimbrite less widespread than that of phase (4) was produced. Co-ignimbrite fall deposits of fine vitric dust and medium-grained pumice were laid down over a huge area. There may have been a short hiatus in activity between phases (4) and (5).

We report analytical methods based on electron microprobe analysis of volcanic tephra which allow estimation of minimum masses of sulfur and chlorine released to the atmosphere by volcanic eruptions. Differences between sulfur and chlorine contents of glassy melt inclusions (trapped by tephra phenocrysts) and matrix glasses, respectively, scaled to estimated eruption volumes, provide estimates of minimum sulfur and chlorine yield to the atmosphere. Declines in mean northern hemisphere surface temperatures associated with several Recent eruptions (Laki 1783, Tambora 1815, Krakatau 1883, Agung 1963, Mount St. Helens 1980) are positively correlated with our estimates of the rnimimum mass of sulfur released to the atmosphere, reinforcing the idea that sulfate aerosols have a greater climatic impact than volcanic “dust.” Injection of volcanic emissions into the stratosphere increases the optical thickness of the atmosphere which may result in cooling of the earth's surface. Our results indicate that decreases in mean surface temperatures associated with the eruptions listed above appear to vary linearly with the cube root of the estimated minimum mass of sulfur released by the eruptions. This apparent geometric relationship suggests that increases in optical thickness may be completely related to increases in the mass of particulates in the stratospheric aerosol layer-Correlations between observed mean surface temperature decreases and other eruption-related parameters (estimated chlorine yield, estimated total sulfur and chlorine yield, estimated tephra volume dense rock equivalent) are poor compared to the correlation with our estimates of sulfur yield. Application of our methods to the 1982 eruption of El Chichon volcano results in underestimation of the minimum mass of sulfur released to the atmosphere, judging from independent estimates based on airborne sampling and satellite observations of the eruption plume. The presence of anhydrite phenocrysts in El Chichon tephra suggests that decomposition of anhydrite may have contributed to the sulfur yield of this eruption. Potential contributions of volatile species to the atmosphere from eruptions of basaltic magma are generally about an order of magnitude higher in sulfur than eruptions of equal volumes of silicic magma, in spite of the fact that silicic magmas inject more fine ash and total volatiles (H2O, CO2) into the upper atmosphere. In view of the significant climatic impact of the Laki 1783 fissure eruption of basaltic magma, we suggest that flood or fissure basalt eruptions should be taken into account along with explosive silicic volcanism in paleoclimatic reconstructions.

Terceira shows a great diversity of lavas and pyroclastics for an oceanic island and is noteworthy for voluminous production of peralkaline salic magma. Four volcanoes form the island; three are composed of both basic and salic rocks and one has only salic rocks exposed. Since the emergence of the island a compositionally bimodal population of rocks has been represented. The products of over 100 eruptions in the upper Terceira Group have been recognised. These include ignimbrites, pumice fall deposits, salic lava extrusions, strombolian scoria deposits, basaltic lava flows and littoral (surtseyan) basaltic tuffs. Basaltic activity is concentrated along a fissure zone which bisects the island diagonally from NW to SE and may be the subaerial expression of the Terceira Rift. Volumetric studies show the rate of accumulation of new crust along this small spreading centre; 5.46 km 3 of new material has been erupted on the island in the past 23 000 years, of which over 4 km 3 is of comendite–pantellerite composition. The pumice fall deposits are of sub-plinian type characterised by smaller dispersal areas than plinian deposits, inverse grading of pumice and internal stratification. The pumice deposits were produced by eruptions of lower explosivity than those which occur on other Atlantic islands, which are interpreted as resulting from lower magmatic gas contents.