Geology topics

A.J. Sutton

Publications and source records attributed to A.J. Sutton.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2015

Kilauea's 5-9 March 2011 Kamoamoa fissure eruption and its relation to 30+ years of activity from Pu'u 'Ō'ō

Lava output from Kīlauea's long-lived East Rift Zone eruption, ongoing since 1983, began waning in 2010 and was coupled with uplift, increased seismicity, and rising lava levels at the volcano's summit and Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō vent. These changes culminated in the four-day-long Kamoamoa fissure eruption on the East Rift Zone starting on 5 March 2011. About 2.7 × 10 6 m 3 of lava erupted, accompanied by ˜15 cm of summit subsidence, draining of Kīlauea's summit lava lake, a 113 m drop of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō's crater floor, ˜3 m of East Rift Zone widening, and eruptive SO 2 emissions averaging 8500 tonnes/day. Lava effusion resumed at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō shortly after the Kamoamoa eruption ended, marking the onset of a new period of East Rift Zone activity. Multiparameter monitoring before and during the Kamoamoa eruption suggests that it was driven by an imbalance between magma supplied to and erupted from Kīlauea's East Rift Zone and that eruptive output is affected by changes in the geometry of the rift zone plumbing system. These results imply that intrusions and eruptive changes during ongoing activity at Kīlauea may be anticipated from the geophysical, geological, and geochemical manifestations of magma supply and magma plumbing system geometry.

Hawaii↗

USGS2015

Groundwater chemistry in the vicinity of the Puna Geothermal Venture Power Plant, Hawai‘i, after two decades of production

We report chemical data for selected shallow wells and coastal springs that were sampled in 2014 to determine whether geothermal power production in the Puna area over the past two decades has affected the characteristics of regional groundwater. The samples were analyzed for major and minor chemical species, trace metals of environmental concern, stable isotopes of water, and two organic compounds (pentane and isopropanol) that are injected into the deep geothermal reservoir at the power plant. Isopropanol was not detected in any of the groundwaters; confirmed detection of pentane was restricted to one monitoring well near the power plant at a low concentration not indicative of source. Thus, neither organic compound linked geothermal operations to groundwater contamination, though chemical stability and transport velocity questions exist for both tracers. Based on our chemical analysis of geothermal fluid at the power plant and on many similar results from commercially analyzed samples, we could not show that geothermal constituents in the groundwaters we sampled came from the commercially developed reservoir. Our data are consistent with a long-held view that heat moves by conduction from the geothermal reservoir into shallow groundwaters through a zone of low permeability rock that blocks passage of geothermal water. The data do not rule out all impacts of geothermal production on groundwater. Removal of heat during production, for example, may be responsible for minor changes that have occurred in some groundwater over time, such as the decline in temperature of one monitoring well near the power plant. Such indirect impacts are much harder to assess, but point out the need for an ongoing groundwater monitoring program that should include the coastal springs down-gradient from the power plant.

Hawaii↗

USGS2014

One hundred volatile years of volcanic gas studies at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

The first volcanic gas studies in Hawai‘i, beginning in 1912, established that volatile emissions from Kīlauea Volcano contained mostly water vapor, in addition to carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide. This straightforward discovery overturned a popular volatile theory of the day and, in the same action, helped affirm Thomas A. Jaggar, Jr.’s, vision of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) as a preeminent place to study volcanic processes. Decades later, the environmental movement produced a watershed of quantitative analytical tools that, after being tested at Kīlauea, became part of the regular monitoring effort at HVO. The resulting volatile emission and fumarole chemistry datasets are some of the most extensive on the planet. These data indicate that magma from the mantle enters the shallow magmatic system of Kīlauea sufficiently oversaturated in CO 2 to produce turbulent flow. Passive degassing at Kīlauea’s summit that occurred from 1983 through 2007 yielded CO 2 -depleted, but SO 2 - and H 2 O-rich, rift eruptive gases. Beginning with the 2008 summit eruption, magma reaching the East Rift Zone eruption site became depleted of much of its volatile content at the summit eruptive vent before transport to Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. The volatile emissions of Hawaiian volcanoes are halogen-poor, relative to those of other basaltic systems. Information gained regarding intrinsic gas solubilities at Kīlauea and Mauna Loa, as well as the pressure-controlled nature of gas release, have provided useful tools for tracking eruptive activity. Regular CO 2 -emission-rate measurements at Kīlauea’s summit, together with surface-deformation and other data, detected an increase in deep magma supply more than a year before a corresponding surge in effusive activity. Correspondingly, HVO routinely uses SO 2 emissions to study shallow eruptive processes and effusion rates. HVO gas studies and Kīlauea’s long-running East Rift Zone eruption also demonstrate that volatile emissions can be a substantial volcanic hazard in Hawai‘i. From its humble beginning, trying to determine the chemical composition of volcanic gases over a century ago, HVO has evolved to routinely use real-time gas chemistry to track eruptive processes, as well as hazards.

Hawaii↗

USGS2013

The first five years of Kīlauea’s summit eruption in Halema‘uma‘u Crater, 2008–2013

The eruption in Halema‘uma‘u Crater that began in March 2008 is the longest summit eruption of Kīlauea Volcano, on the Island of Hawai‘i, since 1924. From the time the eruption began, the new "Overlook crater" inside Halema‘uma‘u has exhibited fluctuating lava lake activity, occasional small explosive events, and a persistent gas plume. The beautiful nighttime glow impresses and thrills visitors in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, but the continuous emission of sulfur dioxide gas produces "vog" (volcanic smog) that can severely affect communities and local agriculture downwind. U.S. Geological Survey scientists continue to closely monitor the eruption and assess ongoing hazards.

Hawai'i↗

USGS2010

Enhancement of the volcanogenic "bromine explosion" via reactive nitrogen chemistry (Kīlauea volcano, Hawai'i)

Since the first detection of bromine monoxide in volcanic plumes attention has focused on the atmospheric synthesis and impact of volcanogenic reactive halogens. We report here new measurements of BrO in the volcanic plume emitted from Kīlauea volcano – the first time reactive halogens have been observed in emissions from a hotspot volcano. Observations were carried out by ground-based Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy in 2007 and 2008 at Pu'u' O ' o crater, and at the 2008 magmatic vent that opened within Halema'uma'u crater. BrO was readily detected in the Halema'uma'u plume (average column amount of 3×1015 molec cm −2 ) and its abundance was strongly correlated with that of SO 2 . However, anticorrelation between NO 2 and SO 2 (and BrO) abundances in the same plume strongly suggest an active role of NO x in reactive halogen chemistry. The calculated SO 2 /BrO molar ratio of ~1600 is comparable to observations at other volcanoes, although the BrO mixing ratio is roughly double that observed elsewhere. While BrO was not observed in the Pu'u' O ' o plume this was probably merely a result of the detection limit of our measurements and based on understanding of the Summit and East Rift magmatic system we expect reactive halogens to be formed also in the Pu'u' O ' o emissions. If this is correct then based on the long term SO 2 flux from Pu'u' O ' o we calculate that Kīlauea emits ~480 Mg yr −1 of reactive bromine and may thus represent an important source to the tropical Pacific troposphere.

Hawaii↗