THE MECHANICS OF SUBGLACIAL BASALTIC LAVA FLOW EMPLACEMENT: INFERRING PALEO-ICE CONDITIONS

Recent studies of terrestrial glaciovolcanic terrains have elucidated the utility of volcanic deposits as recorders of ice conditions at the time of eruption. Practically all of these investigations, however, have focused upon the associations of volcaniclastic and coherent lava lithofacies at or proximal to the source vent. Very few studies have documented the emplacement of effusion-dominated, basaltic glaciovolcanic eruptions and their distal deposits that more accurately reveal paleo-ice conditions. Both Mauna Kea volcano, Hawaii and the Tennena volcanic center (TVC), on Mount Edziza, British Columbia, Canada, preserve records of interaction between coherent lavas and an ice sheet inferred to be associated with the last glacial maximum (LGM). The identification, mapping and description of subglacial TVC lava flows reveals the spatial distribution and characteristics of primary volcanic lithofacies and associated glaciogenic lithofacies, and reveals the processes of the emplacement of the distal lava flows under thick ice. Exposure dating with cosmogenic nuclides proves the most effective technique to temporally constrain the emplacement of these subglacial lavas. This work shows; 1) classification schemes that utilize remotely sensed imagery are locally robust but are not readily viable as identifiers of subglacial lavas in other volcanic terrains, 2) the distribution of primary hydrovolcanic clastic deposits at the TVC are confined to the cone, but coherent pillow lavas including distinctive vertically-oriented and distended pillows are widespread, 3) multiple lobes of massive sheet lavas record high initial magma discharge rates, 4) associated glaciogenic facies that underlie or onlap the TVC lavas indicate active subglacial meltwater drainage at the time of the eruption. Analyses of H2O/CO2 in pillow rim samples give broad constraints for emplacement pressures equivalent to 500-1400 m of overlying ice. No subaerial lava morphologies are found on the cone or in the proximal to distal lithofacies, and the sequence is interpreted as documenting an eruption of basaltic lava flows beneath either the LGM Cordilleran ice sheet or a Younger Dryas expansion of the still-extant Edziza ice cap. To further constrain the age of the eruption exposure dating with cosmogenic chlorine-36 is the most viable method as demonstrated on Mauna Loa explosive deposits

The Relation Between Decadal Droughts and Eruptions of Steamboat Geyser in Yellowstone National Park, USA

Abstract In the past century, most eruptions of Steamboat Geyser in Yellowstone National Park's Norris Geyser Basin were mainly clustered in three episodes: 1961–1969, 1982–1984, and ongoing since 2018. These eruptive episodes resulted in extensive disturbance to surrounding trees. To characterize tree response over time as an indicator of geyser activity adjustments to climate variability, aerial and ground images were analyzed to document changes in tree coverage around the geyser since 1954. Radiocarbon dating of silicified tree remnants from within 14 m of the geyser vent was used to examine geyser response to possible variations in decadal to centennial precipitation patterns. We searched for atypical or absent growth rings in cores from live trees in years associated with large geyser eruptions. Photographs indicate that active eruptive phases have adversely affected trees up to 30 m from the vent, primarily in the dominant downwind direction. Radiocarbon dates indicate that the geyser formed before 1878, in contrast to the birthdate reported in historical documents. Further, the ages of the silicified trees cluster within three episodes that are temporally correlated with periods of relative drought in the Yellowstone region during the 15th–17th centuries. The discontinuous growth of trees around the geyser suggests that changes in eruptive patterns occur in response to decadal to multidecadal droughts. This inference is supported by the lack of silicified specimens with more than 20 annual rings and by the existence of atypical or missing rings in live trees during periods of extended geyser activity