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"Planetary volcanoes"
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Fire and ice : volcanoes of the Solar System
\"Fire and Ice is an exploration of the Solar System's volcanoes, from the highest peaks of Mars and the red-hot summits of Io to the icy, seemingly dormant surfaces of Enceladus and Europa.\"--
Book
Horizon. Space volcanoes
Volcanoes are one of the most incredible natural phenomena on Earth. But under the extreme conditions of our neighboring planets, these imposing giants take on strange and gargantuan forms, creating dramatic vistas like nothing we've seen before. With the help of state-of-the-art CGI and the latest scientific imagery, take a tour of breathtaking beauty. Travel to Mars to visit a volcano nearly three times taller than Everest; view the recently discovered ice volcanoes of Pluto; and watch as the enormous gravity of Jupiter rips apart its moon Io, creating striking blue plumes over 500 kilometers high.
Streaming Video
The Diverse Planetary Ingassing/Outgassing Paths Produced over Billions of Years of Magmatic Activity
The C-H-O-N-S elements that constitute the outgassed atmosphere and exosphere have likely been delivered by chondritic materials to the Earth during planetary accretion and subsequently processed over billions of years of planetary differentiation. Although these elements are generally considered to be volatile, a large part of the accreted C-H-O-N-S on Earth must have been sequestered in the core and mantle, with the remaining part concentrated at the Earth’s surface (exosphere:
atmosphere
+
ocean
+
crust
). The likely reason for this is that, depending on the prevailing pressure (P), temperature (T) and oxidation state (oxygen fugacity, fO
2
) in the planet’s interior, the C-H-O-N-S elements can behave as siderophile, lithophile, refractory, magmatophile, or atmophile. It is not clear if these elements might be sequestered in the interiors of planets elsewhere, since the governing parameters of P-T-fO
2
during the diverse magmatic processes controlling magmatic differentiation vary greatly over time and from planet to planet. The magma ocean outgassed the first atmosphere, which was probably also the largest in terms of mass, but its nature and composition remain poorly known. Meanwhile, a significant, but unknown, part of the accreted C-H-O-N-S elements was sequestered in the core. These will probably never be liberated into the atmosphere. A secondary atmosphere was then fuelled by volcanism, driven by mantle convection and most likely enhanced by plate tectonics. The Earth still has active volcanism, and the volume and volatile contents of its magma are closely linked to geodynamics. Earth’s volcanoes have long emitted relatively oxidized gases, in contrast to Mars and Mercury. Mantle oxidation state seems to increase with planetary size, although the role of plate tectonics in changing the Earth’s mantle oxidation state remains poorly understood. Water contents of magma from elsewhere in the solar system are not so different from those produced by the Earth’s depleted mantle. Other elements (e.g. N, S, C) are unevenly distributed. A great diversity of speciation and quantity of magmatic gas emitted is found in planetary systems, with the key inputs being: 1 – degassing of the magma ocean, 2 – mantle oxidation state (and its evolution), and 3 – plate tectonics (vs. other styles of mantle convection). Many other parameters can affect these three inputs, of which planetary size is probably one of the most important.
Journal Article
Warm storage for arc magmas
Felsic magmatic systems represent the vast majority of volcanic activity that poses a threat to human life. The tempo and magnitude of these eruptions depends on the physical conditions under which magmas are retained within the crust. Recently the case has been made that volcanic reservoirs are rarely molten and only capable of eruption for durations as brief as 1,000 years following magma recharge. If the “cold storage” model is generally applicable, then geophysical detection of melt beneath volcanoes is likely a sign of imminent eruption. However, some arc volcanic centers have been active for tens of thousands of years and show evidence for the continual presence of melt. To address this seeming paradox, zircon geochronology and geochemistry from both the frozen lava and the cogenetic enclaves they host from the Soufrière Volcanic Center (SVC), a long-lived volcanic complex in the Lesser Antilles arc, were integrated to track the preeruptive thermal and chemical history of the magma reservoir. Our results show that the SVC reservoir was likely eruptible for periods of several tens of thousands of years or more with punctuated eruptions during these periods. These conclusions are consistent with results from other arc volcanic reservoirs and suggest that arc magmas are generally stored warm. Thus, the presence of intracrustal melt alone is insufficient as an indicator of imminent eruption, but instead represents the normal state of magma storage underneath dormant volcanoes.
Journal Article
Extreme climate after massive eruption of Alaska’s Okmok volcano in 43 BCE and effects on the late Roman Republic and Ptolemaic Kingdom
The assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE triggered a power struggle that ultimately ended the Roman Republic and, eventually, the Ptolemaic Kingdom, leading to the rise of the Roman Empire. Climate proxies and written documents indicate that this struggle occurred during a period of unusually inclement weather, famine, and disease in the Mediterranean region; historians have previously speculated that a large volcanic eruption of unknown origin was the most likely cause. Here we show using well-dated volcanic fallout records in six Arctic ice cores that one of the largest volcanic eruptions of the past 2,500 y occurred in early 43 BCE, with distinct geochemistry of tephra deposited during the event identifying the Okmok volcano in Alaska as the source. Climate proxy records show that 43 and 42 BCE were among the coldest years of recent millennia in the Northern Hemisphere at the start of one of the coldest decades. Earth system modeling suggests that radiative forcing from this massive, high-latitude eruption led to pronounced changes in hydroclimate, including seasonal temperatures in specific Mediterranean regions as much as 7 °C below normal during the 2 y period following the eruption and unusually wet conditions. While it is difficult to establish direct causal linkages to thinly documented historical events, the wet and very cold conditions from this massive eruption on the opposite side of Earth probably resulted in crop failures, famine, and disease, exacerbating social unrest and contributing to political realignments throughout the Mediterranean region at this critical juncture of Western civilization.
Journal Article
Complex subsurface hydrothermal fluid mixing at a submarine arc volcano supports distinct and highly diverse microbial communities
Hydrothermally active submarine volcanoes are mineral-rich biological oases contributing significantly to chemical fluxes in the deep sea, yet little is known about the microbial communities inhabiting these systems. Here we investigate the diversity of microbial life in hydrothermal deposits and their metagenomics-inferred physiology in light of the geological history and resulting hydrothermal fluid paths in the subsurface of Brothers submarine volcano north of New Zealand on the southern Kermadec arc. From metagenome-assembled genomes we identified over 90 putative bacterial and archaeal genomic families and nearly 300 previously unknown genera, many potentially endemic to this submarine volcanic environment. While magmatically influenced hydrothermal systems on the volcanic resurgent cones of Brothers volcano harbor communities of thermoacidophiles and diverse members of the superphylum “DPANN,” two distinct communities are associated with the caldera wall, likely shaped by two different types of hydrothermal circulation. The communities whose phylogenetic diversity primarily aligns with that of the cone sites and magmatically influenced hydrothermal systems elsewhere are characterized predominately by anaerobic metabolisms. These populations are probably maintained by fluids with greater magmatic inputs that have interacted with different (deeper) previously altered mineral assemblages. However, proximal (a few meters distant) communities with gene-inferred aerobic, microaerophilic, and anaerobic metabolisms are likely supported by shallower seawater-dominated circulation. Furthermore, mixing of fluids from these two distinct hydrothermal circulation systems may have an underlying imprint on the high microbial phylogenomic diversity. Collectively our results highlight the importance of considering geologic evolution and history of subsurface processes in studying microbial colonization and community dynamics in volcanic environments.
Journal Article
Redox variations in Mauna Kea lavas, the oxygen fugacity of the Hawaiian plume, and the role of volcanic gases in Earth’s oxygenation
The behavior of C, H, and S in the solid Earth depends on their oxidation states, which are related to oxygen fugacity (fO₂). Volcanic degassing is a source of these elements to Earth’s surface; therefore, variations in mantle fO₂ may influence the fO₂ at Earth’s surface. However, degassing can impact magmatic fO₂ before or during eruption, potentially obscuring relationships between the fO₂ of the solid Earth and of emitted gases and their impact on surface fO₂. We show that low-pressure degassing resulted in reduction of the fO₂ of Mauna Kea magmas by more than an order of magnitude. The least degassed magmas from Mauna Kea are more oxidized than midocean ridge basalt (MORB) magmas, suggesting that the uppermantle sources of Hawaiian magmas have higher fO₂ than MORB sources. One explanation for this difference is recycling of material from the oxidized surface to the deep mantle, which is then returned to the surface as a component of buoyant plumes. It has been proposed that a decreasing pressure of volcanic eruptions led to the oxygenation of the atmosphere. Extension of our findings via modeling of degassing trends suggests that a decrease in eruption pressure would not produce this effect. If degassing of basalts were responsible for the rise in oxygen, it requires that Archean magmas had at least two orders of magnitude lower fO₂ than modern magmas. Estimates of fO₂ of Archean magmas are not this low, arguing for alternative explanations for the oxygenation of the atmosphere.
Journal Article
Weak magnetism of Martian impact basins may reflect cooling in a reversing dynamo
Understanding the longevity of Mars’s dynamo is key to interpreting the planet’s atmospheric loss history and the properties of its deep interior. Satellite data showing magnetic lows above many large impact basins formed 4.1-3.7 billion years ago (Ga) have been interpreted as evidence that Mars’s dynamo terminated before 4.1 Ga—at least 0.4 Gy before intense late Noachian/early Hesperian hydrological activity. However, evidence for a longer-lived, reversing dynamo from young volcanics and the Martian meteorite ALH 84001 supports an alternative interpretation of Mars’s apparently demagnetized basins. To understand how a reversing dynamo would affect basin fields, here we model the cooling and magnetization of 200-2200 km diameter impact basins under a range of Earth-like reversal frequencies. We find that magnetic reversals efficiently reduce field strengths above large basins. In particular, if the magnetic properties of the Martian mantle are similar to most Martian meteorites and late remagnetization of the near surface is widespread, >90% of large ( > 800 km diameter) basins would appear demagnetized at spacecraft altitudes. This ultimately implies that Mars’s apparently demagnetized basins do not require an early dynamo cessation. A long-lived and reversing dynamo, unlike alternative scenarios, satisfies all available constraints on Mars’s magnetic history.
Weak magnetic fields above Mars’s large impact basins are often interpreted as a signature of the dynamo’s early cessation. Here, the authors demonstrate that these weakly magnetic basins may instead have formed in a long-lived but reversing dynamo.
Journal Article
Evidence for Glaciovolcanic, Phreatomagmatic Tuff Dominated Ridges at Pavonis Mons, Mars
HiRISE images and digital elevation models (DEMs) of outcrops in candidate Martian glaciovolcanoes provide more detailed evidence for glaciovolcanic processes than has previously been available for Mars. A group of ridges in the Pavonis Mons fan‐shaped glacial deposit features pervasive layering, evidence for local collapse and slumping, and steeper faces in the direction of paleoglacier flow inferred from other features in the deposit. After comparison with terrestrial analogs, we conclude that these ridges are excellent candidates for tephra‐dominated tindar, formed in phreatomagmatic subglacial eruptions. The englacial meltwater lakes required for a phreatomagmatic origin represent a rare example of voluminous surface water bodies in the Late Amazonian of Mars. Plain Language Summary Steep‐sided landforms in glacial deposits next to volcanoes are good places to look for evidence that lava and ice interacted. We studied high‐resolution images of a steep‐sided ridge in a glacial deposit on the Pavonis Mons volcano on Mars, and used two of the images to make a 3‐D model of the ridge. The distinctly layered beds of rock that make up the ridge, the depressions in nearby ridges, the evidence that part of the ridge collapsed while it was being built, and the way the slope of the ridge changes with location are very similar to landforms on Earth called “tephra‐dominated tindar”. This suggests that the Martian ridge formed in a long‐lived body of liquid water, which have been very uncommon on Mars for the past few hundred million years. Key Points A steep‐sided ridge in the Pavonis Mons glacial deposits comprises a fractured lower unit overlain by layers dipping away from the crest Its steepness and layering are similar to effusion‐dominated tuyas and tephra‐dominated tindar. Morphology and context favor the latter This implies substantial ice melting and that liquid water remained to interact with the growing edifice, unusual for late Amazonian Mars
Journal Article