Renzulli, A.

At 18:20 of 28 December 2002 an eruptive vent opened on the NE flank of the Sciara del Fuoco at 600 m asl, marking the onset of the 2002-2003 eruptive crisis of Stromboli volcano. The first eruptive hours were characterized by mild spattering and effusive activity from the new vent and the summit vent at crater 1. Gravitational instability processes also determined the partial collapse of NE walls of the summit cone (crater 1). Pyroclastic material partly accumulated on the NE part of the Sciara, and partly flowed down slope and reached the sea at Spiaggia dei Gabbiani forming a ~ 4m-thick, reddish avalanche, that was soon covered by a lava flow emitted in the following hours (Lodato et al., 2007). In this paper, we describe the first hours of activity trough eyewitnesses’ reports, geophysical monitoring, field and laboratory studies and of the erupted pyroclastic material and lava flows. Daily temperature measurements were carried out on the avalanche deposit formed by the flow of scoria along the Sciara, using a handheld thermal camera mainly during helicopter surveys. A fast cooling rate was typical of the deposit surface, and a slow cooling rate was representative of its inner portion.

Textural and mineralogical study of high-temperature, angular blocks erupted during the Stromboli explosion of 15 March 2007 was used to make inferences on the nature and thermal state of rocks forming the subsurface of the volcano' summit crater terrace. The studied ejecta consist of lapilli tuff that formed as a result of the transformation and high temperature induration (sintering) of the basaltic scoriae, lapilli and ash originally accumulated as loose tephra during the current activity of the volcano. The main processes leading to the tephra transformation were investigated through microstructural observations, mineral and glass analyses (SEM-EDS and EMP analyses). Investigations revealed that subsolidus reactions and partial melting of the tephra occurred, at temperatures higher than 600 °C and under variable fO2 conditions from QFM to HM buffering curves. In some blocks, evidence of high-T reheating and partial melting at the expense of secondary hydrothermal minerals was also observed. In order to track the subsolidus reheating history of the basaltic pyroclasts, a detailed study of the pseudomorphic phases and reactions after olivine, driven by iron oxidation under high-T conditions, was performed. The observed mineralogical transformation suggests that the lapilli tuff material, originating from the burial of tephra routinely accumulated by persistent Strombolian explosions within the crater terrace, were in some cases altered by the circulation of acidic fluids and were in any case reheated due to isotherm rise forced by high heat flux and gas streaming delivered by the underlying magma system. It is worth noting that the ejection of these unusual volcanic lithotypes was possible because a few days before the 15 March 2007 event, the craters were clogged with lapilli tuff material that slid into the crater bottom between 7 and 9 March. Findings of this study suggest that the scattered permanently active vents and shallow conduits of Stromboli are surrounded sideways and underneath the crater terrace, by a fairly large volume of high temperature rocks with variable degree of compaction, sintering up to partially melted. Such a spectrum of rock types is in good agreement with the conceptual model of prominent thermal zoning all around (sideway and upwards) the active magmatic system. We speculate that continuous migration upwards of isotherms led to transformation and partial melting of the normal Strombolian tephra.

We report on the variation of the elemental (He, Ne, and Ar) and isotopic (He and Ar) compositions of olivine and clinopyroxene-hosted fluid inclusions hosted in lavas, pyroclastics, and cumulate xenoliths from the last 60 ka of the eruptive history of Stromboli volcano, Italy. Samples belong to (i) the present-day activity as represented by shoshonitic (SHO) basalts, i.e., pumices with low porphyritic (LP) content and high porphyritic (HP) scoriae; (ii) the subalkaline versus alkaline products erupted at Stromboli during its subaerial history among the extrememagmatic series, i.e., calc-alkaline (CA) and potassic (KS); and (iii) the only known ultramafic cumulates (San Bartolo wehrlite xenoliths, SBX) outcropping in the island, carried to the surface by recent (ca. 2 ka) basaltic lava. To interpret the results better, we also investigated trace elements in the clinopyroxenes of wehrlite xenoliths and the Sr and Nd isotopes of all of the products in which the 3He/4He ratio was measured. Wehrlite xenoliths are igneous cumulates crystallized at mantle depth that mostly consist of clinopyroxene and olivine crystals with limited compositional variation. The texture, mineral chemistry, pattern of trace elements and Sr–Nd-isotope ratios (in clinopyroxene) suggest that these cumulates were produced by the early crystallization of a primitive basaltic magma with CA or HKCA–SHO affinity. The gas contents measured in themafic crystals decrease fromthewehrlite xenoliths through LP pumice, CA and KS lavas and, finally, to the HP scoria. This observation is consistent with crystallization and fluid entrapment frommantle depths to progressively shallower crustal levels. The lowgas content extracted from the HP crystals did not allow measurement of their 3He/4He ratios. Most of the investigated crystals exhibit a 3He/4He ratio in the range of 4.0–4.9 Ra, with only the KS mafic minerals exhibiting lower 3He/4He values (≤3.5 Ra). The low values of He-isotope ratios relative to those of the most-uncontaminated mantle source of the Aeolian lavas (i.e., 3He/4He ~7 Ra at Alicudi) and in common volcanic arcs suggest that the Stromboli mantle wedge is more contaminated by sediments and aqueous fluids derived by the active subduction of the Ionian slab. We also hypothesize that a process of mantle He loss that occurred during the mantle metasomatism contributed to the decrease of 3He/4He. The low 3He/4He values of the KS minerals with respect to the other Stromboli magmatic series are consistent with the higher Sr- and lower Nd-isotope ratios measured in the same samples and are attributed to source heterogeneity. Finally, data for the 3He/4He ratios from mafic minerals were compared with those of currently emitted hydrothermal fluids, which are regularly sampled for volcano surveillance. The maximum 3He/4He ratio found in the hydrothermal fluids matched the maximum ratio measured in the LP fluid inclusions (i.e., 4.6 Ra) and thus corresponds to the upper limit that should be expected for surface gases during or before high-intensity eruptive events in which a deep gas component

The 5 April 2003 eruption of Stromboli volcano (Italy) was the most violent in the past 50 years. It was also the best documented due to the accurate geophysical monitoring of the ongoing effusive eruption. Detailed field studies carried out a few hours to a few months after the event provided further information that were coupled with visual documentation to reconstruct the explosive dynamics. The eruption consisted of an 8-min-long explosive event preceded by a short-lived precursory activity that evolved into the impulsive ejection of gas and pyroclasts. Meter-sized ballistic blocks were launched to altitudes of up to 1400 m above the craters falling on the volcano flanks and on the village of Ginostra, about 2 km far from the vent. The vertical jet of gas and pyroclasts above the craters fed a convective plume that reached a height of 4 km. The calculated erupted mass yielded values of 1.1–1.4 × 108 kg. Later explosions generated a scoria flow deposit, with an estimated mass of 1.0–1.3 × 107 kg. Final, waning ash explosions closet the event. The juvenile fraction consisted of an almost aphyric, highly vesicular pumice mingled with a shallow-derived, crystal-rich, moderately vesicular scoria. Resuming of the lava emission a few hours after the paroxysm indicate that the shallow magmatic system was not significantly modified during the explosions. Combination of volume data with duration of eruptive phases allowed us to estimate the eruptive intensity: during the climactic explosive event, the mass discharge rate was between 106 and 107 kg/s, whereas during the pyroclastic flow activity, it was 2.8–3.6 × 105 kg/s. Strong similarities with other historical paroxysms at Stromboli suggest similar explosion dynamics.

We describe the mineralogy, geochemistry, and mesomicrostructure of fresh subvolcanic blocks erupted during the 5 April 2003 paroxysm of Stromboli (Aeolian Islands, Italy). These blocks represent ∼50 vol.% of the total erupted ejecta and consist of fine- to medium-grained basaltic lithotypes ranging from relatively homogeneous dolerites to strongly or poorly welded magmatic breccias. The breccia components are represented by angular fragments of dolerites entrapped in a matrix of vesiculated (lava-like to scoriae) crystal-rich (CR) basalt. All of the studied blocks are cognates with the CR basalt of the normal Strombolian activity or lavas and they are often coated by a few-centimeter thick layer of crystal-poor (CP) basaltic pumice erupted during the paroxysm. We suggest that they result from the rapid increase of pressure and related subvolcanic rock failure that occurred shortly before the 5 April 2003 explosion, when the uppermost portion of the edifice inflated and suffered brecciation as the result of the sudden rise of the gas-rich CP basalt that triggered the eruption. Dolerites and magmatic matrix of the breccias show major and trace element compositions that match those of the CR basalts erupted during normal Strombolian activity and effusive events at Stromboli volcano. Dolerites consist of (a) phenocrysts normally found in the CR basalts and (b) late-stage magmatic minerals such as sanidine, An60-28 plagioclase, Fe–Mn-rich olivines (Fo68-48), phlogopite, apatite, and opaque mineral pairs (magnetite and ilmenite), most of which are never found both in lava flows and scoriae erupted during the persistent explosive activity that characterizes typical Strombolian behavior. Subvolcanic crystallization of the Stromboli CR magma, leading to slowly cooled equivalents of basalts, could result from transient drainage of the magma from the summit craters to lower levels. Fingering and engulfing of the material that collapsed from the summit crater floor into the shallow basaltic system during the late evening of 28 December 2002 coupled with the short break in the summit persistent explosions between December 2002 and March 2003 permitted the CR magma pockets to solidify as dolerites, which were confined to the uppermost portion of the system and thus not involved in the ongoing flank effusive activity. Crystal size distribution of the basaltic blocks and crystallization of the finer-grained (<0.1 mm) mafic minerals of the dolerites over a time interval of ∼100 days closely agrees with the above interpretation. Vesicle filling (miarolitic cavities) locally found in some dolerites, with minerals deposited as vapor-phase crystallization is a result of continuous gas percolation through the rocks of the uppermost portion of the volcanic system. Poorly welded magmatic breccias formed during syn-eruptive processes of 5 April 2003, when the paroxysm strongly shattered the shallow subvolcanic system and many dolerite fragments were entrapped in the CR magma. In contrast, the high degree of welding between the dolerite clasts and the CR basaltic matrix in the strongly welded magmatic breccias provides a snapshot of subvolcanic intrusions of the CR basalt into the dolerite when, after a 2-month break in activity, CR magmas started to rise again to the summit craters. Blocks similar to these subvolcanic ejecta of 5 April 2003 were also erupted during previous paroxysms (e.g., 1930) suggesting that changes in the usual Strombolian activity (e.g., short breaks in the persistent mild explosions and/or flank effusive activity) lead to transient crystallization of dolerites in the shallow plumbing system.

The 5 April 2003 explosive eruption at Stromboli emplaced typical basaltic scoria, pumice, and lithic blocks. This paper reports a detailed set of mineralogical, geochemical, and isotopic data on the juvenile ejecta and fresh subvolcanic blocks, including micro-Sr isotope analyses and major and dissolved volatile element contents in olivine-hosted melt inclusions. The juvenile ejecta have compositions similar to those of their analogs from previous paroxysms; the 2003 pumice, however, does not contain stable high-MgO olivine, usually typical of large-scale paroxysms and has lower compatible element contents. Texture, composition, and Sr isotope disequilibrium of crystals in pumice indicate that most of them are inherited from the shallow crystal-rich magma and/or crystal mush. The most primitive magma is recorded as rare melt inclusion in olivine Fo85–86. It has a typical S/Cl (1.1) and a total volatile content of 3.1 wt % from which the total fluid pressure was evaluated ≥240 MPa. Hence, moderate pressure conditions can be envisaged for the mechanism triggering the April 2003 paroxysm. The subvolcanic blocks are shoshonitic basalts with 45–50 vol % of phenocrysts (plagioclase + clinopyroxene + olivine). The late-stage crystallization of the crystal-rich magma lead to the formation of Na-sanidine with plagioclase An60–25 + olivine Fo68–49 + Timagnetite ± apatite ± phlogopite ± ilmenite assemblage. Mineralogy, chemistry, and Sr–Nd isotopic signatures of the subvolcanic blocks indicate they represent the slowly cooled equivalents of batches of crystal-rich basaltic magma stored in the uppermost subvolcanic feeding system. Cooling might be facilitated by short breaks in the summit crater activity.

Large-scale landslides at volcanic islands are one of the most dangerous geological phenomena, able to generate tsunamis whose effects can propagate far from the source. However, related deposits are scarcely preserved on-land in the geologic records, and are often difficult to be interpreted. Here we show the discovery of three unprecedented well-preserved tsunami deposits related to repeated flank collapses of the volcanic island of Stromboli (Southern Italy) occurred during the Late Middle Ages. Based on carbon datings, on stratigraphic, volcanological and archaeological evidence, we link the oldest, highest-magnitude investigated tsunami to the following rapid abandonment of the island which was inhabited at that time, contrary than previously thought. The destructive power of this event is also possibly related to a huge marine storm that devastated the ports of Naples in 1343 (200 km north of Stromboli) described by the famous writer Petrarch. The portrayed devastation can be potentially attributed to the arrival of multiple tsunami waves generated by a major landslide in Stromboli island, confirming the hypothetical hazard of these phenomena at a regional scale.