The Rungwe Volcanic Province, Tanzania - A volcanological review

International audienceThe Rungwe Volcanic Province in SW Tanzania is a densely populated area that is considered volcanically active. As part of the East African Rift System, a significant control of tectonic activity seems to exist on the location and also potential destabilization of volcanic edifices. Three large volcanoes, Ngozi, Rungwe, and Kyejo, dominate the landscape and all show contrasting eruptive behaviour in the recent geological past. Kyejo volcano is a flow-dominated volcano that had a historic lava flow eruption. Lake sediment cores, drilled in Lakes Malawi, Masoko, Rukwa, and Tanganyika, provide a record of frequent explosive eruptions in the last few tens of thousands of years. In combination with on-land stratigraphic observations, they constrain the minimum eruptive frequency of especially Rungwe and Ngozi volcanoes. Both volcanoes had Plinian-style eruptions in the Holocene. The most striking documented Rungwe eruption, the ca. 4 ka Rungwe Pumice, is a rare case of a Plinian eruption in near-wind-free conditions. Furthermore, the Rungwe Pumice, just like any other Rungwe tephra deposit, does not show any evidence of pyroclastic density current deposits. Apart from explosive eruptions at a range of scales happening every few hundred years at Rungwe, the volcano also experienced at least two sector collapse events generating debris avalanches. All existing evidence shows that the Rungwe Volcanic Province is prone to future significant explosive eruptions. To further assess, quantify and mitigate volcanic hazard risks, extensive and systematic multidisciplinary geological research, and both volcanic and tectonic monitoring are needed

The ~4-ka Rungwe Pumice (South-Western Tanzania): a wind-still Plinian eruption

The similar to 4-ka trachytic Rungwe Pumice (RP) deposit from Rungwe Volcano in South-Western Tanzania is the first Plinian-style deposit from an African volcano to be closely documented focusing on its physical characterization. The RP is a mostly massive fall deposit with an inversely graded base. Empirical models suggest a maximum eruption column height HT of 30.5-35 km with an associated peak mass discharge rate of 2.8-4.8x10(8) kg/s. Analytical calculations result in HT values of 33 +/- 4 km (inversion of TEPHRA2 model on grain size data) corresponding to mass discharge ranging from 2.3 to 6.0 x 10(8) kg/s. Lake-core data allow extrapolation of the deposit thinning trend far beyond onland exposures. Empirical fitting of thickness data yields volume estimates between 3.2 and 5.8 km(3) (corresponding to an erupted mass of 1.1-2.0 x 10(12) kg), whereas analytical derivation yields an erupted mass of 1.1x10(12) kg (inversion of TEPHRA2 model). Modelling and dispersal maps are consistent with nearly no-wind conditions during the eruption. The plume corner is estimated to have been ca. 11-12 km from the vent. After an opening phase with gradually increasing intensity, a high discharge rate was maintained throughout the eruption, without fountain collapse as is evidenced by a lack of pyroclastic density current deposits

Tectonic control over active volcanism at a range of scales: case of the Rungwe Volcanic Province, SW Tanzania; and hazard implications

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Fundamental changes in the activity of the natrocarbonatite volcano Oldoinyo Lengai, Tanzania, II: eruptive behaviour during the 2007–2008 explosive eruptions

On September 4,2007, after 25 years of effusive natrocarbonatite eruptions, the eruptive activity of Oldoinyo Lengai (OL), N Tanzania, changed abruptly to episodic explosive eruptions. This transition was preceded by a voluminous lava eruption in March 2006, a year of quiescence, resumption of natrocarbonatite eruptions in June 2007, and a volcano-tectonic earthquake swarm in July 2007. Despite the lack of ground-based monitoring, the evolution in OL eruption dynamics is documented based on the available field observations, ASTER and MODIS satellite images, and almost-daily photos provided by local pilots. Satellite data enabled identification of a phase of voluminous lava effusion in the 2 weeks prior to the onset of explosive eruptions. After the onset, the activity varied from 100 m high ash jets to 2-15 km high violent, steady or unsteady, eruption columns dispersing ash to 100 km distance. The explosive eruptions built up a similar to 400 m wide, similar to 75 m high intra-crater pyroclastic cone. Time series data for eruption column height show distinct peaks at the end of September 2007 and February 2008, the latter being associated with the first pyroclastic flows to be documented at OL. Chemical analyses of the erupted products, presented in a companion paper (Keller et al. 2010), show that the 2007-2008 explosive eruptions are associated with an undersaturated carbonated silicate melt. This new phase of explosive eruptions provides constraints on the factors causing the transition from natrocarbonatite effusive eruptions to explosive eruptions of carbonated nephelinite magma, observed repetitively in the last 100 years at OL