Browsing by Subject "Calderas"
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Item Calderas(2009-03) Barker, Daniel S.Item Epithermal vein and carbonate replacement mineralization related to caldera development, Cunningham Gulch, Silverton, Colorado(1984-05) Hardwick, James Fredrick, 1955-; Kyle, J. RichardEpithermal vein and carbonate replacement deposits in Cunningham Gulch are located within the western San Juan Tertiary volcanic field in southwestern Colorado. The Pride of the West epithermal vein system is hosted within the intracaldera facies of the Sapinero Mesa Tuff, a voluminous ash-flow tuff that erupted from and resulted in the formation of the San Juan Caldera at 28 mybp. The Pride of the West vein system is developed along a radial fracture formed during resurgence of the San Juan Caldera prior to eruption of the Crystal Lake Tuff (27.5 mybp). This eruption led to the concomitant collapse of the Silverton Caldera, nested within the larger San Juan Caldera. The Pride of the West, Osceola, and Little Fanny mines are positioned near the intersection of the Pride radial fracture system and the buried structural margin of the San Juan Caldera, suggesting that ore concentration was controlled by this structural setting. Large limestone blocks of the Mississippian Leadville Formation are incorporated into the intracaldera fill volcanics in the mine area. These blocks appear to have been engulfed within mudflow breccias of the Tertiary San Juan Formation (32.1 mybp). They were then emplaced in their present structural position within a caldera-collapse breccia which caved from the oversteepened margin of the San Juan Caldera. Regional propylitic alteration of the hosting volcanics to a chlorite-calcite-pyrite assemblage preceded vein-associated alteration and mineralization. The veins are enveloped by a narrow phyllic alteration assemblage of quartz, sericite, illite, kaolinite, and pyrite. The veins are comprised of sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite, pyrite, hematite, magnetite, quartz, pyroxmangite, calcite, and minor barite. Substantial bodies of replacement ore are present where the vein structures intersect the limestone blocks; the mineral assemblages of the replacement deposits are identical to those of the feeding vein structures. Commonly, replacement textures are spectacular concentrations, especially the "zebra ore" which primarily consists of regularly spaced, alternating bands of sulfides and quartz. These "zebra" laminations are stratigraphically controlled and appear to represent replacement of a depositional or diagenetic fabric. Main ore-stage mineralization began with widespread deposition of quartz with or without pyrite, followed by sphalerite, chalcopyrite, and galena. Post ore-stage brecciation and silicification events are evident and were followed by deposition of calcite and minor barite during the waning stages of the hydrothermal system. The distributions of Fe, Mn, Pb, and Ca suggest a lateral component of fluid flow from northwest the southeast, away from the structural margin of the Silverton Caldera. Fluid inclusion data from both vein and replacement-type sphalerite and quartz indicate that mineral deposition occurred over a range of 200 to 312°C (mean 243°C) from solutions containing 1 to 5% total salts. The high base metal to precious metal content of the ore, the phyllic alteration assemblage, and the temperature and composition of the ore-forming fluid indicate that the mine workings are within the lower portion of a fossil geothermal system.Item Lava domes(2009-03) Barker, Daniel S.Item Recharge, decompression, and collapse : dynamics of volcanic processes(2009-05) Andrews, Benjamin James; Gardner, James Edward, 1963-Non-linear volcanic and magmatic processes control the occurrence and behavior of volcanic eruptions. Consequently, understanding the responses of volcanic systems to processes of different length scales, timescales, and magnitudes is critical to interpreting ancient deposits, understanding current eruption dynamics, and predicting future activity. Here I present the results of three studies wherein analytical geochemistry, experimental petrology, and turbulent flow analysis describe otherwise obscured volcanic processes. Injections of new magma are common events in magma chambers. Recharging magma can change the chamber composition and temperature and may facilitate assimilation of country rock. Plagioclase phenocrysts provide an opportunity to examine recharge and assimilation processes, because their compositions are sensitive to temperature and their Sr isotopic ratios can record compositional variations in the chamber. Chemical and isotopic microanalyses of crystals from 7 eruptions of El Chichón Volcano, Mexico, reveal that recharge and assimilation events are very common and mixing is efficient, but individual events seldom affect the entire chamber. During every eruption, magma decompresses and ascends through a conduit from a chamber at depth to a vent at the surface. Changes in pumice textures during the 1800 ¹⁴C yr BP eruption of Ksudach Volcano, Kamchatka, suggest that conduit structure changed following caldera collapse. Decompression experiments show that the post-collapse pumice decompressed at ~0.0025 MPa/s, compared to pre-collapse decompression rates of >0.01 MPa/s. By balancing those results with eruptive mass fluxes I quantify the effects of caldera collapse on a conduit, and show that collapse resulted in a conduit with a very broad base and narrow vent. Turbulent air entrainment controls whether an eruption column rises buoyantly or collapses to generate pyroclastic flows. Through extensive re-evaluation of video and photographs of the 18 May 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, I report the first measurements of the turbulent velocity field of a volcanic column and show that changes in its turbulence reflect changes in eruption behavior. Those results indicate collapse was caused by a reduction in eddy size and turbulent air entrainment initiated by an increased vent size and the development of a buoyant annulus surrounding a dense, collapsing core.Item Scoria (cinder) cones(2009-03) Barker, Daniel S.