The Kulanaokuaiki-3 tephra, 900 CE: Products of a remarkably energetic pyroclastic eruption at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi, USA
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Abstract
Eruptions of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi, USA, can be more powerful than previously recognized. The Kulanaokuaiki-3 (K-3) eruption, ca. 900 CE, consisted of two episodes that dispersed lithic wall-rock clasts (Episode 1) and dominantly scoria (Episode 2; VEI-3) across >65 km2 southeast of the summit. Dense 12 cm blocks of Episode 1 fell 8–10 km from the summit vent, and 2–4 cm lithic lapilli reached the coastline, 17 km from the vent. The Episode 2 deposit is chemically zoned, indicating orderly eruption from a layered magma body analogous to the 1959 Kīlauea Iki lava lake. Olivine-hosted melt inclusions suggest a magma body within 1 km of the surface. Some Episode 1 lithic clasts have magmatic rinds chemically similar to the early Episode 2 scoria, suggesting a genetic link, although each had a distinct eruption mechanism. Southeastward tephra dispersal counter to NE trade winds implies dispersal by jet-stream winds. The dispersal of lithic clasts in Episode 1 cannot be explained by ballistic trajectories or by transport in a buoyant plume. Calculations instead indicate that a jet from a vent with a minimum diameter of 50 m, a velocity of at least 300 m/s, and a duration of ∼60 s could have lifted the lithic clasts into the jet stream. Isopach and isopleth maps for Episode 2 indicate a subplinian column height of 14–18 km and a duration of 2–3 h, assuming constant flux. The Episode 1 conduit probably intersected or otherwise lowered pressure within a compositionally zoned magma body, triggering eruption of the Episode 2 scoria.
Study Area
Publication type | Article |
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Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
Title | The Kulanaokuaiki-3 tephra, 900 CE: Products of a remarkably energetic pyroclastic eruption at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi, USA |
Series title | Geological Society of America Bulletin |
DOI | 10.1130/B35063.1 |
Volume | 131 |
Issue | 9-10 |
Year Published | 2019 |
Language | English |
Publisher | Geological Society of America |
Contributing office(s) | Volcano Science Center |
Description | 18 p. |
First page | 1537 |
Last page | 1554 |
Country | United States |
State | Hawaii |
Other Geospatial | Kīlauea Volcano |
Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |